This world is the empire of the spiritual sovereignty of the Abhá Beauty, and this realm is the seat where the mighty throne of the Kingdom of the Exalted One is established. Its effulgent sun, its shining moon never set; its brilliant stars never fade; its bright horizon is never overcast. Its oceans surge and its birds soar in the heights. Its streams are living waters, soft-flowing rivers of immortality. Its trees are saplings planted in the orchard of the Lord of Glory. Its dominion is the immensity of the realm of the placeless, and its territory the domain of the heart. Its abiding joy is attainment unto the presence of the ever-forgiving Lord. Its sustenance is the liberal bounty that His adored Beauty hath bestowed. Its chalice is the cup tempered at the camphor fountain, its designation the Expanse of Eternal Life, a life that transcendeth the limitations of countless ages.
- ‘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)
