Also included are authorized English translations where available.

December 13, 2019

Bahá’u’lláh’s “sole purpose in raising the Call and in proclaiming His sublime Word”

حق شاهد و مظاهر اسمآء و صفاتش گواه که مقصود از ارتفاع نداء و کلمه عليا آنکه ازکوثر بيان آذان امکان از قصص کاذبه مطهّر شود و مستعد گردد از براى اصغاى کلمه طيّبه مبارکه عليا که از خزانه علم فاطر سمآء و خالق اسمآء ظاهر گشته طوبى للمنصفين.
 (حضرت بهاءالله  -  مجموعه اى از الواح جمال اقدس ابهى که بعد از کتاب اقدس نازل شده)

God, the True One, testifieth and the Revealers of His names and attributes bear witness that Our sole purpose in raising the Call and in proclaiming His sublime Word is that the ear of the entire creation may, through the living waters of divine utterance, be purged from lying tales and become attuned to the holy, the glorious and exalted Word which hath issued forth from the repository of the knowledge of the Maker of the Heavens and the Creator of Names. Happy are they that judge with fairness. 
- Baha’u’llah  (‘Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

December 10, 2019

“God graciously infused my soul with the conclusive evidences and weighty knowledge which characterize Him Who is the Testimony of God…”


خداوند شاهد است ‏كه مرا علمى نبود زيرا‏ كه در تجارت پرورش ‏نمودم در سنه ستيّن قلب مرا مملوّ از آيات محكمه وعلوم متقنه حضرت حجّة الله عليه السّلام فرمود تا آنكه ظاهر كردم در آن سنه امر مستور را وركن مخزون را بشأنی‏ كه از براى احدى حجّتى باقى نماند ليهلك من هلك عن بيّنةٍ ويحيی‏ من حيّ عن بيّنةٍ
( حضرت نقطۀ اولی - منتخبات آيات از آثار حضرت نقطۀ اولی)

God beareth Me witness, I was not a man of learning, for I was trained as a merchant. In the year sixty [1260 A.H. (1844 A.D.)] God graciously infused my soul with the conclusive evidences and weighty knowledge which characterize Him Who is the Testimony of God—may peace be upon Him—until finally in that year I proclaimed God’s hidden Cause and unveiled its well-guarded Pillar, in such wise that no one could refute it. “That he who should perish might perish with a clear proof before him and he who should live might live by clear proof.” [Qur’án 8:44] 
- The Báb  (From an Epistle to Muhammad Sháh of Persia, ‘Selections from the Writings of the Báb)

December 7, 2019

“These are the Teachings of the Blessed Beauty, these the counsels of the Most Great Name.”

جمال مبارک میفرماید همه بار یکداریک و برگ یکشا خسار عالم وجود را بیک شجر و جمیع نفوس بمنزله اوراق و ازهار و اثمار تشبئه فرمودند لهذا باید جمیع شاخه و برگ و شکوفه و ثمر در نهایت طرافت باشند و حصول این لطافت و حلافت منوط بارتباط و الفت است پس باید یکدیگر را در نهایت قوت نگهداری نمیایند و حیات جاودانی طلبند پس احبای الهی باید در عالم وجود رحمت رب و دود گردند و موهبت ملیک غیب و شهود نظر را پاک نمایند و نوع بشر را برگ و شکوفه و ثمر شجرایجاد مشاهده کنند همیشه باین فکرباشند که خیری بنفسی رسانند و محبت و رعایتی و مودت و اعانتی بنفسی نمایند دشمنی نبینند و بد خواهی نشمرند جمیع من علی الارض را دوست انگارند و اغیار را یار دانند و بیگانه را آشنا شمرند و بقیدی مقید نباشند باکه از هر بندی ازآد گردند الیوم مقرب درگاه کبریا نفسی است که جام وفا بخشید و اعداد را در عطا مبذول دارد حتی ستمگر بیچاره را دستگیر شود و هرخصم لدود را یار و دود اینست وصا یائ جمال مبارک اینست نصایح اسم اعظم
(منتخباتی از مکاتیب حضرت عبدالبهاء)

The Blessed Beauty saith: “Ye are all the fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch.” Thus hath He likened this world of being to a single tree, and all its peoples to the leaves thereof, and the blossoms and fruits. It is needful for the bough to blossom, and leaf and fruit to flourish, and upon the interconnection of all parts of the world-tree, dependeth the flourishing of leaf and blossom, and the sweetness of the fruit.

For this reason must all human beings powerfully sustain one another and seek for everlasting life; and for this reason must the lovers of God in this contingent world become the mercies and the blessings sent forth by that clement King of the seen and unseen realms. Let them purify their sight and behold all humankind as leaves and blossoms and fruits of the tree of being. Let them at all times concern themselves with doing a kindly thing for one of their fellows, offering to someone love, consideration, thoughtful help. Let them see no one as their enemy, or as wishing them ill, but think of all humankind as their friends; regarding the alien as an intimate, the stranger as a companion, staying free of prejudice, drawing no lines.

In this day, the one favored at the Threshold of the Lord is he who handeth round the cup of faithfulness; who bestoweth, even upon his enemies, the jewel of bounty, and lendeth, even to his fallen oppressor, a helping hand; it is he who will, even to the fiercest of his foes, be a loving friend. These are the Teachings of the Blessed Beauty, these the counsels of the Most Great Name. 
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

December 4, 2019

“The light which the Manifestations of God in every age shed upon the material and spiritual life of humanity…”


نوری که پیامبران الهی در هر عصر بر زندگی مادّی و معنوی انسان می‌افکنند حقایقی را روشن می‌کند که قبل از ظهورشان حتّی قابل تصوّر نبوده است.  آن مربّیان، پرتو جدیدی بر روابط ضروریّه‌ که ترقّی عالم و عالمیان بر آن مبتنی است ‌می‌افشانند و مقتضیات دسترسی به آن را فراهم می‌کنند.  ظهورشان جواهر مکنون در عرصۀ وجود را به منصّۀ شهود می‌رساند و تعالیم‌شان مرحلۀ نوینی از وحدت را به ارمغان می‌آورد.  آنان نوع بشر را بار دیگر تشویق می‌کنند که به صفات روحانی متّصف شود و بر اکتساب کمالات انسانی کوشا گردد و با همّت خود و تأیید خداوندی، بنیان سعادت خویش بنا نهد.۹ 
(بیت العدل اعظم 2 ابان 1398)  

The light which the Manifestations of God in every age shed upon the material and spiritual life of humanity discloses truths, whose very conception is impossible before the appearance of those Manifestations.  Those Teachers illumine the essential relationships on which the progress of the world and its inhabitants depends and create the instruments for the attainment of that progress.  Their appearance makes manifest the treasures hidden in the world of being, and Their teachings bring with them the precious gift of a new stage of unity.  They encourage humankind once again to acquire spiritual qualities and to attain human perfections, so that through the confirmations of God and its own endeavours, it can lay the foundations of its own felicity. 
- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 24 October 2019 to the Baha’is in Iran)

December 1, 2019

Question about next life and its connection with this life – answer by Shoghi Effendi


حضرت وليّ امراللّه جلّ سلطانه در توقيع مبارک مورّخ ٤

شهر البهاء سنه ١٠٣ ميفرمايند قوله الاحلی:
"راجع بسؤالی که از عالم بعد و ارتباطش باين جهان ادنی
نموده بوديد فرمودند بنويس تصوّر کيفيّت عالم ديگر از برای
انسان در اين عالم ادنی بهيچوجه ممکن نه ولی روح انسان
پس از ارتقاء واقف بر حال نفوس در اين عالم است فراموشی
و انفصال متصوّر نه ولی کيفيّت آن مجهول اتّصال ارواح بيکديگر نيز محقّق" انتهی
 (حضرت ولی امرالله - مائده آسمانی جلد سوم)

November 29, 2019

“The Sun of Truth hath risen to illumine the whole earth…”


ای اهل عالم طلوع شمس حقیقت محض نورانیت عالم است و ظهور رحمانیت در انجمن بنی آدم نتیجه و ثمر مشکور و سنوحات مقدسه هر فیض موفور رحمت صرف است و موهبت بحت و نورانیت جهان و جهانیان ائتلاف و التیام است و محبت و ارتباط بلکه رحمانیت و یگانگی و ازاله بیگانگی و وحدت با جمیع من علی الارض در نهایت ازادگی و فرزانگی
(منتخباتی از مکاتیب حضرت عبدالبهاء)

O peoples of the world! The Sun of Truth hath risen to illumine the whole earth, and to spiritualize the community of man. Laudable are the results and the fruits thereof, abundant the holy evidences deriving from this grace. This is mercy unalloyed and purest bounty; it is light for the world and all its peoples; it is harmony and fellowship, and love and solidarity; indeed it is compassion and unity, and the end of foreignness; it is the being at one, in complete dignity and freedom, with all on earth. 
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha)

November 27, 2019

“Guard ye…the integrity of the station which ye have attained, and cleave to that which shall promote His Cause.”

عباد عالم بتصوّر موهوم چه مقدار جانها انفاق نموده و مینمایند و شما الحمد للّه بمقصود فائزید و بموعود رسیده‌اید باعانت حقّ جلّ جلاله این مقام را حفظ نمائید و بآنچه سبب و علّت ارتفاع امر است تمسّک جوئید انّه یأمرکم بالمعروف و بما یرتفع به مقام الانسان فی الامکان تعالی الرّحمن منزل هذا اللّوح البدیع

( حضرت بهاءالله - منتخباتی از آثار حضرت بهاءالله )

Consider the multitude of lives that have been, and are still being, sacrificed in a world deluded by a mere phantom which the vain imaginations of its peoples have conceived. Render thanks unto God, inasmuch as ye have attained unto your heart’s Desire, and been united to Him Who is the Promise of all nations. Guard ye, with the aid of the one true God—exalted be His glory—the integrity of the station which ye have attained, and cleave to that which shall promote His Cause. He, verily, enjoineth on you what is right and conducive to the exaltation of man’s station. Glorified be the All-Merciful, the Revealer of this wondrous Tablet. 
- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)

November 25, 2019

“Strive, that ye may truly recognize and know Him…”


بگو ای اولیای حقّ جهد نمائید شاید بعرفانش فائز گردید و بما ینبغی عامل اینست امری که اگر یک قطره در سبیلش کم شود صدهزار بحر مکافات آن را مشاهده نماید یعنی مالک شود بگو ای دوستان این شأن عظیم را از دست مدهید و از این مقام بلند غافل مشوید
( حضرت بهاءالله - منتخباتی از آثار حضرت بهاءالله )

Say: O ye lovers of the One true God! Strive, that ye may truly recognize and know Him, and observe befittingly His precepts. This is a Revelation, under which, if a man shed for its sake one drop of blood, myriads of oceans will be his recompense. Take heed, O friends, that ye forfeit not so inestimable a benefit, or disregard its transcendent station.
- Baha'u'llah  ('Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah')

November 23, 2019

O Son of Spirit!

ای پسر روح
هر طیری را نظر بر آشیانست و هر بلبلی را مقصود جمال گل مگر طیور افئدهٴ عباد که بتراب فانی قانع شده از آشیان باقی دور مانده‌اند و بگلهای بعد توجّه نموده از گلهای قرب محروم گشته‌اند زهی حیرت و حسرت و افسوس و دریغ که بابریقی از امواج رفیق اعلی گذشته‌اند و از افق ابهی دور مانده‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‌اند

(حضرت بهاءالله - کلمات مکنونه فارسی)

O Son of Spirit!
The bird seeketh its nest; the nightingale the charm of the rose; whilst those birds, the hearts of men, content with transient dust, have strayed far from their eternal nest, and with eyes turned towards the slough of heedlessness are bereft of the glory of the divine presence. Alas! How strange and pitiful; for a mere cupful, they have turned away from the billowing seas of the Most High, and remained far from the most effulgent horizon.
- Baha’u’llah  (‘The Hidden Words’)

November 20, 2019

“the Purpose and Promise of all the Prophets of God…”


امری که لم‌یزل و لایزال مقصود نبیّین و غایة رجای مرسلین بوده بارادهٴ مطلقه و مشیّت نافذه ظاهر شده اوست موعودی که جمیع کتب الهی باو بشارت داده مع‌ذلک اهل ارض از او غافل و محجوب مشاهده میشوند
حضرت بهاءالله - منتخباتی از آثار حضرت بهاءالله )

The Revelation which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as the Purpose and Promise of all the Prophets of God, and the most cherished Desire of His Messengers, hath now, by virtue of the pervasive Will of the Almighty and at His irresistible bidding, been revealed unto men. The advent of such a Revelation hath been heralded in all the sacred Scriptures. Behold how, notwithstanding such an announcement, mankind hath strayed from its path and shut out itself from its glory. 
- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)

November 18, 2019

"This is the Day in which God’s most excellent favors have been poured out upon men…"

امروز روز فضل اعظم و فیض اکبر است باید کل بکمال اتّحاد و اتّفاق در ظلّ سدرهٴ عنایت الهی ساکن و مستریح باشند و تمسّک نمایند بآنچه الیوم سبب عزّت و ارتفاع است طوبی لقوم تحرّک علی ذکرهم قلمی الأعلی و نعیماً للّذین سترنا اسمائهم حکمة من عندنا
از حقّ بطلبید تا جمیع را مؤیّد فرماید بر آنچه لدی العرش مقبولست زود است بساط عالم جمع شود و بساط دیگر گسترده گردد انّ ربّک لهو الحقّ علّام الغیوب
( حضرت بهاءالله - منتخباتی از آثار حضرت بهاءالله )

This is the Day in which God’s most excellent favors have been poured out upon men, the Day in which His most mighty grace hath been infused into all created things. It is incumbent upon all the peoples of the world to reconcile their differences, and, with perfect unity and peace, abide beneath the shadow of the Tree of His care and loving-kindness. It behoveth them to cleave to whatsoever will, in this Day, be conducive to the exaltation of their stations, and to the promotion of their best interests. Happy are those whom the all-glorious Pen was moved to remember, and blessed are those men whose names, by virtue of Our inscrutable decree, We have preferred to conceal.

Beseech ye the one true God to grant that all men may be graciously assisted to fulfil that which is acceptable in Our sight. Soon will the present-day order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead. Verily, thy Lord speaketh the truth, and is the Knower of things unseen. 
- Baha’u’llah  (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah’)