Bahai Prayers (1900)
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Prayers, 
Tablets, 
Instructions and 
Miscellany 
 
Gathered by 
American Visitors to the 
Holy City 
During the Summer of 1900 

<p5> 
 
PRAYER TO BE SAID ON FIRST 
AWAKENING 
 
Praise be unto Thee, Oh my God, that Thou 
hast awakened me after my sleep, caused me to 
appear after my absence, and raised me from 
my insensibility.  I arose facing the Lights of 
the Dawn of Thine Appearance, by which the 
horizons of the Heavens of Thy Power and Thy 
Majesty were enlightened, confessing Thy 
Signs, assured in Thy Book, and holding to 
Thy Rope.  
 
I beg of Thee, by the Power of Thy Will, and 
by the Penetration of Thy Purpose, to ordain 
that which Thou hast showed me in my vision, 
as the most solid foundation for the dwelling 
place of Thy love in the hearts of Thy Friends, 
and the best cause for the appearance of Thy 
Favour and Thy Grace.  
 
Oh my Lord, ordain to me, by Thy Supreme 
Pen, the blessings of the world to come, and 
the present one.  I bear witness, that verily the 
reins of affairs are in Thy Grasp, and that Thou 
changest them as Thou desirest.  There is no 
God but Thee, the Powerful and the Faithful.  
 
Thou art the One whose Command changeth 
lowliness into might; weakness into strength; 
humility to authority; confusion to tranquility, 
and doubt to conviction.  There is no God but 
Thee, The Glorious, The Generous.  Disappoint 
<p6> 
not whosoever entreateth Thee, and forbid 
not whosoever desireth Thee.  Ordain that 
which befitteth the Heaven of Thy Bounty, and 
the Ocean of Thy Generosity.  Verily Thou art 
the Powerful, the Mighty.  
 
PRAYER TO BE SAID BEFORE GOING 
TO BUSINESS 
 
He is the Protector and the Self-Subsistent.  
 
I arose by Thy Favour, oh my God, and left 
the house depending upon Thee, and confiding 
my affairs unto Thee.  Then send down upon 
me a blessing from before Thee, from the 
Heaven of Thy Mercy.  Then make me to return 
to the house in safety, as Thou didst cause 
me to leave it in safety and steadfastness.  There 
is no God but Thee, The Single, The One, The 
Knowing and the Wise.  
 
PRAYER TO BE SAID ON FIRST 
AWAKENING 
 
I arise in Thy Shelter, and it behooveth him 
who seeketh Thy protection to be under the 
shield of Thy Guard, and in the Fortress of Thy 
Defence.  O my Lord, enlighten me inwardly 
by the Lights of the Day-break of Thy Manifestation, 
as Thou hast enlightened me outwardly 
by the Light of the dawn of Thy Favour.  
 
PRAYER TO BE SAID ON ENTERING OR 
LEAVING A CITY 
 
O my God, ordain this place fortunate and 
safe.  Then guard me, oh my God, at the moment 
<p7> 
of my entering and of my leaving it.  Then 
ordain it as a fortress to me, and to those who 
adore Thee and worship Thee, that they may 
be fortified therein through Thy Favour, and 
protected therein from the thrusts of the infidels 
by Thy Power.  
 
Verily Thou art the Mighty, the Powerful, 
the Protector, the Honoured and the Self-Subsistent.  
 
PRAYER TO BE SAID BEFORE GOING 
TO SLEEP 
 
Thou are the Praiser and the Praised One.  
O my God, and my Master and my Desire.  
This, thy servant desireth to sleep in the shelter 
of Thy Mercy, and to rest under the shadow of 
the Dome of Thy Favour, assisted by Thy Protection 
and Thy Guard.  O my Lord, I invoke 
Thee, by Thine Eye which sleepeth not, to protect 
mine eye from beholding aught beside 
Thee.  Then increase its light by witnessing 
Thy Signs, and by looking towards the Horizon 
of Thy Manifestation.  Thou art He before 
whose Appearances of Might, the existence of 
power is subdued.  
 
There is no God but Thee, the Powerful, the 
Conqueror, the Chosen One.  
 
A SHORT PRAYER 
In case of necessity, may be used instead 
of the longer daily prayer  
 
After ablution of face and hands, turn towards 
Acca, and say: 
 
<p8> 
 
I testify, oh my God, that Thou hast created 
me for Thy knowledge and for Thine adoration.  
I testify at this instant, to my powerlessness, 
and to Thy Power; to my weakness, and 
to Thy Might; to my poverty, and to Thy 
Riches.  There is no God but Thee, The Protector, 
The Self-Subsistent.  
 
PRAYER TO BE SAID BEFORE GOING 
TO SLEEP 
  
O my God, O my God!  How can I choose 
to sleep whilst the eyes of the yearning ones 
are awaken because of separation from Thee, 
and how can I rest on the bed whilst the minds 
of Thy lovers are troubled by Thine Absence.  
O my Lord, I confide my spirit and my essence 
in the right hand of Thy Authority and 
Thy Security, and I lay my head on the bed 
by Thy Power; then raise it therefrom by Thy 
Will and Thy Desire.  Verily Thou art the Protector, 
the Guardian, the Powerful and the 
Mighty.  
 
By Thy Might, naught I desire from sleep, 
neither from waking, but that which Thou desirest.  
I am Thy servant, and in Thy Grasp.  
Confirm me to that whereby the scent of Thy 
Satisfaction is diffused.  This is my hope, and 
the hope of those who are near to Thy Presence.  
Praise be unto Thee, O God of the creatures.  
 
<p9> 
 
TABLET REVEALED FROM THE BLESSED 
PERFECTION TO THE EXALTED LEAF 
 
This Book is from before Us to her who hath 
heard and attained, and she hath sprung from 
this Pre-Existent Root, and hath appeared in 
My Name, and hath tasted My Most Holy and 
Wonderful Saliva.  We have given her to drink 
from My Sweetest Mouth, and once from the 
Mighty and Shining Kawther.  May My Glory 
and the Fragrance of My Shining Garment be 
upon her.  
 
The Greatest 
 
Oh thou blessed and sparkling Leaf!  Sing 
and chant on the Twigs of the Bower of Beha 
in this exalted Word; Verily there is no God 
but Him, the Lord of the Beginning and the 
End.  We have surely ordained thee as the best 
of the maid-servants, and have bestowed upon 
thee such a station from before Our Presence 
to which no women have preceded (thee).  In 
this wise We have preferred thee, and have 
given thee precedence as a Favour from before 
the Lord of the Throne and the earth.  We have 
surely created thine eye to perceive the Lights 
of My Face, and thine ears to hear My Verses, 
and thy temple to stand before the Throne.  
Thank thy Lord, the Lord of all creatures!  
How sweet is the witness of The Tree for His 
Leaf, and the Bower of Singleness for His 
Fruit!  She ought to diffuse the scent of musk 
with My Remembrance.  Blessed is whosoever 
discoverth it and saith: Praise be unto Thee, 
<p10> 
oh my Lord, The Behi-ul-Abha!  How sweet is 
thy presence before My Face, and My Regard 
unto thee, and My Favour unto thee, and My 
Good-will upon thee, and My Remembrance of 
thee in this Tablet which we have ordained as 
the Sign of My Favour unto thee, both secretly 
and openly.  
 
The Abha 
 
Oh My Leaf, hear My Call!  Verily there is 
no God but Me, the Mighty, the Wise!  I discover 
from thee the breaths of My Love, and 
the Fragrance of the Garment of My Name, 
The Most Holy, The Shining.  Wave on the 
tree as thou wilt, then speak in the praise of thy 
Lord among all the creatures.  Be not grieved 
with the world, and hold to this Tree from 
which God hath caused thee to spring forth.  
By My Life, it behooveth the lover to hold to 
the Beloved!  This is the Beloved of all the 
creatures!  
 
Oh My God and My Lord!  Praise be unto 
Thee for that Thou hast made to appear the 
Sun of Thy Beauty from behind the clouds, in 
days whereof the eye of mankind hath not beheld 
the life.  Then, oh My God, make the faces 
of Thy servants to emerge from behind the 
calyx, and to behold Thee manifestly on the 
Throne of Thy Grandeur and Glory.  May the 
Peace of God and His Favour and His Mercy 
be upon ye!  
 
<p11> 
 
EXTRACT FROM TABLET REVEALED BY 
THE BLESSED PERFECTION 
 
Oh friends of The True One!  The object of 
enduring the successive afflictions and these 
succeeding calamities, is this--that the souls 
assured to God may behave with one another 
with the greatest harmony, in such a manner 
that discord and duellism and difference be 
effaced from among them, with certain exceptions 
revealed in Divine Scriptures.  A man of 
insight will in no wise be subject to any defect; 
all that will take place will be a proof of the 
greatness of his station, and of the purity of his 
nature.  For instance, if some one should humble 
himself before the lovers of God for the 
sake of God, that submission will be as to God, 
because it has regard to his belief in God.  
Likewise, if the former (the one to whom the 
submission is shown) does not act like the latter, 
or if pride appear from him, the man of insight 
has attained the summit of his action, and has 
attained and will attain to its reward, and the 
evil of the deed of the former soul will turn to 
himself.  So also, if someone act proudly, that 
pride will turn him from God (I take refuge in 
God) oh possessors of mind.  I swear by the 
Greatest Name, in these days it is too pitiful 
that a soul should consider non-essential 
grades.  Stand up for the Divine Cause, and 
behave with the utmost affection one with the 
other.  Burn the carnal coverings sincerely before 
the Face of the Beloved with the fire of 
<p12> 
Unity, and have intercourse with one another 
with bright and glad faces.  Ye have all seen 
the natural qualities of the True One, that it 
hath not been pleasing to Him that one night 
should pass in which one of the believers of 
God should be displeased with this youth.  The 
core of the world is enkindled by the Divine 
Word; it is pitiful for ye not to be enkindled 
with this fire.  Please God, We hope ye will appoint 
this blessed night "the night of agreement" 
and ye will all unite one with the other, 
and will be adorned with the embroidery of 
good and praiseworthy inward qualities.  And 
your care must be this--to guide one from the 
chambers of mortality to the River of Life, and 
to behave in such a manner among the servants 
that the traces of the True One may show forth 
from ye.  Because ye are the first of the adorers, 
and the first of the worshippers, and the 
first of the encirclers; then by The One who 
hath caused Me to speak in that which is desired, 
your names are more renowned in the 
exalted Kingdom than the names before ye.  
Believe not that this utterance is imagination.  
 
Would that ye could have seen that which 
your Lord, The Merciful, sees of the greatness 
of your station, and the greatness of your 
worth, and the loftiness of your position!  I beg 
God that your passionate desires will not prevent 
ye from that which is ordained for ye.  We 
hope that ye will behave with one another with 
<p13> 
the utmost harmony, affection and friendship--
in such a manner that the Ensign of Unity may 
be raised, and the standard of polytheism be annihilated, 
and that ye may advance one before 
the other in good deeds, and in showing forth 
the acceptance (of God).  To Him is the Command 
and the Creation, He doeth that which 
He willeth, and ordereth that which He desireth; 
and verily He is The Powerful, The 
Mighty, The Omnipotent.  
 
REVEALED IN AKKA BY THE BLESSED 
PERFECTION FOR ROUHA KHANUM 
 
He is established upon the Throne of the 
Beyan.  
 
Praise, acclamation, remembrance and glory 
are ascribed to the Most Holy and Inaccessible 
Court of the Presence of the Beloved, who 
quickened the world and the nations by the 
waves of Revelation, and adorned them with 
the embroidery of Existence.  He is the Powerful, 
on whose rebuff or reception are and have 
been dependent the deeds and actions of all created 
things.  If one were to invoke and worship 
the Presence of the Exalted Wealthy One, from 
the First from before which there is no beginning, 
unto the Last, of which there is no ending, 
in deserts, lands, mountains and hills,--whilst 
the scent of God's Satisfaction were not diffused 
from him, he hath never been, nor will be accepted.  
 
At a time when once the Residence of the 
<p14> 
Seat of the Lord was in one direction of the 
directions, a certain one in the Presence, 
praised a servant of the servants, and mentioned 
that day and night he was employed in 
supplication to the Supplier of all necessities.  
In answer to him We commanded that if the 
watcher by night and the invoker by day has 
gained favour, he is beloved and accepted before 
God; otherwise it hath been and will be of 
no use.  Nay rather, in this condition, that 
which is just and that which is forbidden, 
piety and atrocious sin, are adjudged 
the same; whereunto beareth witness the Ommul 
Kitab (the "Mother of the Book"; 
this name is applied both to the Manifestor in 
every age who reveals scriptures, and to the 
revealed Book), and verily He is The Truthful 
and The Faithful.  
 
Oh Rouha! may the Beha of God, the Lord 
of the creatures, be upon thee!  In the Days of 
the Manifestation, holy and pure deeds and 
pleasing and spiritual inborn qualities are beloved.  
Deeds are counted as fruits of the 
Blessed Tree before God; blessed are the doers, 
both men and women.  But the favour therein 
is dependent on permission; otherwise it will 
be of no value and remembrance before God, 
The Remembrancer and The Knowing.  
 
On this morn this order is revealed from the 
Heaven of the Desire.  Break thy fast, Oh Leaf 
of My Tree, because, when hurtful, fasting has 
been, and will be, of no benefit.  
 
<p15> 
 
Say: Oh my God, oh my God, behold Thy 
Leaf who is holding to the Tree of Thy Command, 
and clinging to the Hem of Thy Favour.  
I beg Thee to assist her to that which is beloved 
and pleasing.  By Thy Might, she hath seized 
Thy Favour, and hath cut herself from the 
favour of all that is in the world, and hath approached 
Thee, and hath cast away all that is 
in the heavens and earths, except that which 
Thy Will hath Wished, and Thy Desire hath 
Desired, which protecteth all, both small and 
great.  
 
Oh My Leaf, oh My Leaf! take the Chalice 
of Immortality in the Name of God, the Lord 
of the Kingdom of Names! then drink thereof 
in His Name, The Commander, the Omnipotent.  
 
Verily I say, there is a great station before 
God for fasting and prayer, but the favour 
therein exists when in health; when in feebleness, 
this action is not allowed.  This is the 
Commandment of the True One (Whose Glory 
is Exalted) both in the past and in the future.  
Blessed are the hearers and doers, both men 
and women.  Praise be unto God, The Revealer 
of the Scriptures!  
 
I praise Thee, oh my God, oh the Desired 
One of all contingent beings, and the Beloved 
One of all created things!  I beg Thee to preserve 
Thine Household from the evil of those 
who violated Thy Covenant and Thine Alliance, 
<p16> 
and denied Thy Right, and disbelieved in Thy 
Signs.  Then cause to descend upon them the 
rains of Thy Generosity and Grace, from the 
Clouds of Thy Mercy.  Then write for them by 
Thy Supreme Pen, that which will exalt them in 
Thy Name from among Thy servants.  Verily 
Thou art Powerful to all that Thou desirest.  
There is no God but Thee, The Mighty, The 
Great.  May the glory shining forth and arising 
from the Horizon of the Heaven of Thy Generosity, 
be upon ye, oh Household, and upon 
whosoever is with ye, and loves ye, and encircles 
ye, and upon those who have sought a position 
for themselves in your vicinity.  Verily He is 
The Assister, The Powerful, The Mighty, The 
Generous.  
 
MONOJAT OF THE BLESSED PERFECTION 
REVEALED BEFORE THE MANIFESTATION 
IN BAGDAD 
 
He is God, The King, The Mighty, The Majestic, 
The Holy.  
 
I invoke Thee, oh My God, at the time that 
the Lamp of Unity will be lighted in the White 
Niche, and this Eternal Candle will be melted 
in the Red Globe, and the Heart will be burnt 
with the fire of grief in the Liver of Beha, and 
the Cock of the Command shall cry out in the 
Supreme Kingdom, and red tears flow on yellow 
cheeks, then verily though He write before 
Thee with the Pen of Black on the Green Tablet, 
<p17> 
yet, within His Mind, He writeth with the 
Pen of Blood on the Fragments of His Lovers, 
that which no one is able to hear in the lower 
Kingdom of Might.  
 
Therefore the Breezes of Spirit ceased from 
the City of Eternity, and the Fruits of the Tree 
of Tooba (a tree of blessedness in Paradise) fell 
down, and the Branches of the Sadrat-el-Montaha 
broke, the melodies of the Nightingale 
were silenced in the Supreme Concourse, and in 
the Chambers of Abha, the delight of the Pure 
Ones was changed, because I was surrounded 
by the scorpions of the mountains and the dogs 
of the ocean; in such wise that if I desire to look 
at the right hand, the poisons thereof will touch 
Me, and if I look to the left hand, the dogs will 
wound Me there.  If I desire to raise My Head, 
millstones will fall upon it.  
 
The matter hath reached to such an extent, 
that all the delicacies of the world are cut from 
Me.  If I desire to drink water, I drink the 
Blood of My Heart; and if I desire to taste 
food, I eat from the fragments of My Liver.  
 
Oh My God, all these are affairs that are inflicted 
upon Me in Thy Love, and have come 
upon Me because of Thine Obedience.  Verily, 
Oh My God, if Thou wilt at this time be powerful 
in protecting Me, then protect Me, and if 
Ye do not so, then build Me an House near the 
Throne of Thy Glory, beyond the Heavens of 
the Might of Thine Eternity.  Then raise Me 
<p18> 
unto Thee, that I may dwell in it by Thy Favour, 
and repose in the Neighborhood of Thy 
Mercy.  For verily I have not found for Myself 
in Thine earth, a retreat wide enough to put 
My Foot on, or to stand upon.  For verily Thy 
servants have hated Me, and have reviled Me, 
and every day they are consulting about My 
murder, and are saying in respect of Me all that 
they desire, and all that they wish they are deciding 
against Me, so that I am perplexed in 
My work, and have not found a refuge to flee 
unto, nor a place to settle in, neither is there a 
shelter for Me to dwell in.  
 
Alas!  Alas!  I have no mother to weep over 
my condition, and I have no sister to strip her 
head in mourning for Me in My misfortune; 
there is no near friend to be associated with Me 
in My calamity, or to befriend Me in My affliction.  
I am, however, contented with what is inflicted 
upon Me in Thy Path.  Would that Thy 
servants could be satisfied therewith, and that 
it would have sufficed them to do all these 
things unto Myself.  No! by Thy Might! this 
shall never satisfy them.  Nay, they will attack 
the Countenance which Thou hast raised (to be) 
in Thy Place, and whom Thou hast established 
to be on the Throne of Thy Sovereignty; whom 
Thou hast concealed under the Tents of Thy 
Glory, and under the Canopy of Thy Sublimity, 
whom Thou hast branched from the Ocean of 
Thy Singleness and enkindled with the Fire of 
Thine Eternity, whom Thou hast elevated to 
<p19> 
the station which is never comprehended by 
anyone, and is never known by any soul, whom 
Thou hast appointed a fortress unto Thy servants, 
and a Light unto the countries, whom 
Thou hast ordained the people to have recourse 
unto, as they have their recourse unto Thee, 
and to be submissive under His Hands as their 
submission unto Thee.  Notwithstanding all 
this, they contradicted Him, and waged war 
against Him, both in secret and public, in such 
wise that they raised banners of contradiction 
against Him and standards of sedition against 
His Cause.  
 
At this time, I beg Thee, oh My God, by the 
Light of Thine Eternity, whereby the heavens 
and earth are illumined, to make My Feet of 
iron by which I may stand in His service, and 
the service of whosoever loveth Thee, that I 
may become a helper of Thy Religion, and a 
guardian of Thine Orders, until I suffer martyrdom 
in His Path in Thy Presence, Oh Thou in 
whose Hand is the Kingdom of all things.  And 
verily Thou art the Almighty!  
 
Then I beg of Thee, oh My God, by the 
grief that befell Me in Thy Way, and that left 
Me not for one instant of Thine Instants, to 
cause Me to ascend to the Paradise of Thine 
Eternity, and to raise Me therein by Thy Favour, 
and to forbid Me not from that which is 
ordained therein of the wonderful Graces of Thy 
Singleness, and of the Essence of Thine Eternal 
Gifts, whereby I may be one of the Dwellers and 
<p20> 
one of the Travellers in the Neighborhood of 
Its Favour.  That the whispers of devils hinder 
Me not from My Love unto Thee, and from My 
yearning after Thee, and My Desire unto Thee, 
and from My Passion towards Thee.  Verily 
that is the Paradise which Thou hast created 
from the seeds of Thy Power, and formed from 
the subtilties of Thy Might, so that the Sun 
shines therein uneclipsed; its Moon is beaming 
unveiled; its stars fall not; its houses are indestructible; 
its trees are unchangeable; its fruits 
unalterable; its mysteries unveiled; its treasures 
unfailing; its light unquenchable; its garment 
weareth not out; its signs are unobliterable; its 
bunches are pendant; its fruits everlasting; its 
leaves continuous; and its blessings accomplished.  
Its Sun is forever in the noon-day and 
is Moon in the day-spring of beauty.  
 
Therefore praise be unto Thee, praise be unto 
Thee, Oh My God.  By Thine Honour! were I 
to mention Thee as long as the Might of Thy 
Dominion and the Eternity of Thine Absolute 
Power continues, the description of one sprinkle 
of that which Thou hast created therein 
from the Appearances of Thy Sovereignty and 
the grades of the Holiness of Thy Divinity, I 
would be impotent, dumb, and hopeless before 
having declared one Letter from the Essences 
which Thou hast created therein by Thy Power, 
and hast caused to appear therein by Thy Purpose.  
 
Therefore praise be unto Thee, praise be unto 
Thee!  
 
<p21> 
 
The Robe of Majesty and Honour, and the 
Essences of Power and Authority behooveth 
One like unto Thee.  Verily Thou art the Powerful 
in truth, and verily We are all worshipping 
Thee and returning unto Thee.  
 
TABLET REVEALED IN ADRIANOPLE BY 
THE BLESSED PERFECTION TO MIRZA 
ALY REZA KHORAZANI 
 
He is Immortal in the Horizon of Abha!  
 
The Cause of God hath come in the shades of 
the Beyan, and the polytheists are in great torment 
in this day.  The hosts of Revelation have 
surely descended with the Ensigns of Inspiration 
from the Heaven of the Tablet in the Name 
of God, the Powerful, The Omnipotent.  Then 
the Unitarians shall rejoice with the victory of 
God and His absolute Power, and in this day 
the deniers will be in manifest agitation.  
 
Oh ye people, are ye fleeing from the Mercy 
of God after that it hath surrounded the contingent 
beings created between the heavens and 
earth?  Change not the blessing of God upon 
yourselves, and deprive not yourselves thereof; 
whosoever turneth away therefrom will be in 
great loss.  The similitude of blessing is like 
unto the Verses; verily they descend from the 
same Heaven, and the Unitarians drink the 
Wine of Life from them, and the polytheists 
drink therefrom the water of Hameen[1].  When 
the Verses of God are read unto them, the fire 
<p22> 
of hatred kindles in their hearts.  In this wise, 
they change the blessing of God upon themselves 
and are of the heedless. 
[1. A fountain of boiling water in Hell spoken of in the Koran.] 
 
Oh people! enter under the shadow of the 
Word; then drink from It the choice Wine of 
Significations and Beyan, because the Kawther 
of the Gracious One is treasured therein, and 
hath appeared from the Will of your Lord, the 
Merciful, with wonderful Lights.  
 
Say: The Ocean of Pre-existence hath surely 
branched forth from this great Ocean; then 
blessed is whosoever abides on Its Shore and 
will be of the dwellers.  This Holy and Abha 
Temple, the Branch of Holiness, hath surely 
branched forth from the Sadrat-el-Montaha.  
May it be healthful to whosoever seeketh refuge 
under Its Shadow, and is of the reposers.  
 
Say: The Branch of the Cause hath surely 
sprung forth from this Root which God hath 
made firm in the Ground of Will, and hath elevated 
Its Branch to a Station that hath surrounded 
all the existence.  Then exalted be this 
Lofty, Blessed, Mighty and Inaccessible Creation!  
 
Oh people! draw nigh unto It, and taste the 
Fruits of Wisdom and Knowledge from It, from 
before The Mighty, The Knowing.  Whosoever 
will not taste of It will be deprived of the blessing 
of God, although he may have nourished 
himself with all that is in the earth, if thou art 
of the knowing.  
 
Say: A Word is surely severed in favour 
<p23> 
from The Greatest Tablet, and God hath 
adorned it with the embroidery of His Self, and 
hath ordained it as a King over all that is on 
earth, and as a Sign of His Grandeur and His 
Power amongst all the creatures, whereby people 
may glorify their Lord, The Mighty, The 
Powerful, The Wise, and that by which they 
may magnify their Creator, and sanctify the Self 
of God, Who standeth upon all things.  This is 
naught but a revelation from before The Knowing, 
The Pre-Existent.  
 
Say: Oh people! then thank God for Its 
Manifestation (The Branch), for verily He is the 
Greatest Favour unto ye, and the most perfect 
Blessing for ye, and that by which every decayed 
bone is quickened.  
 
Whosoever faceth unto Him, hath surely 
faced unto God, and whosoever turneth away 
from Him, hath surely turned away from My 
Beauty and disbelieved in My Proof and is of 
the prodigal.  Verily He is The Trust of God 
among ye, and His Deposit within ye, and His 
Appearance upon ye, and The Dawn among His 
servants who are nigh.  
 
In this wise I am ordered to deliver unto ye 
the Message of God your Creator, and I delivered 
unto ye all whereunto I was commanded.  
Therefore thereunto witnesseth God, then His 
Angels and His Apostles, then His holy servants.  
Inhale the scent of the Rizwan from Its 
Flowers (The Branches), and be not of those 
who are deprived thereof.  Take advantage of 
<p24> 
the Favour of God upon ye, and be not veiled 
therefrom; and verily we have surely raised It 
in the Temple of Man; then blessed be God, the 
Originator of all that He wills by His affirmed 
and wise Command.  Verily those who deprived 
themselves from the Shade of the Branch, are 
those who lose their way in the wilderness, and 
the heat of passionate desire burneth them and 
they are of the perishing.  Hasten oh people, 
unto the Shadow of God, that ye may be preserved 
from the heat of the day in which no 
one shall find for himself any shade or abode, 
except under the Shadow of His Name, The 
Forgiving, The Merciful.  
 
Wear oh people, the raiment of Assurance to 
guard ye from the thrust of suspicion and imagination, 
that ye may be of the assured in those 
days in which one shall never be assured and 
shall never be established in the Cause but by 
cutting himself from all that is in the hands of 
the people, and facing the Holy and Brilliant 
Countenance.  
 
Oh people! do ye take the Djelet as an assistant 
to yourselves without God? and do ye take 
the Taghout as a lord without your Lord, The 
Powerful, The Omnipotent?  Leave their remembrance, 
oh people!  (The Djelet and the 
Taghout were the two Meccan idols mentioned 
in the Koran, and which were destroyed by 
Aly.)  Then take the Cup of Life in the Name 
of your Merciful Lord: By God! the existence 
is quickened with one drop thereof, if ye are of 
the knowing.  
 
<p25> 
 
Say: In this day there is no shelter for any 
one but the Cause of God, and there is no place 
of refuge for any soul but God--and this is that 
which is true, and there is naught after the truth 
but manifest error.  
 
God hath surely compelled every soul to deliver 
His Cause as much as he has power therein.  
In this wise the Command is pre-ordained 
by the Finger of Power and Authority on the 
Tablets of great Might.  Whosoever quickeneth 
one soul in this Cause, it is as if he quickened 
all the servants, and God shall raise him in the 
Day of Judgment in the Rizwan of Oneness, 
with the embroidery of His Soul, The Protector, 
The Mighty, The Generous.  Verily this is your 
assistance unto your Lord, and nothing but this 
shall ever be remembered in this day before 
God, your Lord, and the Lord of your forefathers.  
 
Verily thou, oh servant, hear that which We 
have commanded thee in the Tablet; then seek 
the Favour of Thy Lord at every moment.  Then 
publish the Tablet before those who believe in 
God and His Verses, that they may follow whatever 
is in It, and may be of the benevolent.  
 
Say: Oh people! commit not corruptions on 
the earth and dispute not with men, because 
verily this agreeth not with the state of those 
who have taken a station under the Shadow of 
their Lord, which is in truth secure.  
 
When ye find a thirsty one, then give him to 
drink of the Cup of Kawther and Tasneen (Waters 
<p26> 
of Paradise), and if ye find a possessor of 
attentive ears, then read unto him the Verses of 
God, The Powerful, The Mighty, The Merciful.  
Unloose your tongue in able explanation; then 
admonish men if ye find them drawing nigh 
unto the sanctuary of God; otherwise abandon 
them to themselves, then leave them in the 
depth of hell.  Beware of scattering the pearls 
of Inner Significance before every barren blind 
one, because the blind are verily deprived of 
beholding the Light, and distinguish not the 
stone from the holy, precious Pearl.  Verily, if 
thou produce wonderful signs of might for one 
thousand years unto the stone, will it understand 
them in itself, or will they take effect in 
it?  No, by thy Lord, The Clement, The Merciful!  
And if thou read all the Verses of God 
unto the deaf, will he hear a single letter thereof?  
No! by the Pre-Existent Beauty of Might.  
 
In this wise we have brought to thy notice the 
jewels of Wisdom and Beyan, that thou mayest 
be a gazer unto the Direction of thy Lord, and 
cut away from all the creatures.  
 
May the Spirit and Glory be upon thee and 
upon those who have dwelt in the Holy Residence, 
and are in the Cause of their Lord with 
manifest steadfastness.  
 
EXTRACT FROM TABLET REVEALED IN BAGDAD 
TO HAJI KHALEEL OF KASVIN, BY 
THE BLESSED PERFECTION IN ANSWER 
TO SOME QUESTIONS 
 
As to thy questions regarding My Son.  Know 
that verily My Sons, if they follow the ordinances 
<p27> 
of God, and exceed not that which is 
limited in Beyan--the Book of God, The Protector 
and the Self-Subsistent; and if they command 
their own souls to that which is just; and 
if they forbid that which is forbidden; and if 
they witness to that which God hath witnessed 
in His firm, established and ordained Verses; 
and if they believe in Him Whom God shall 
cause to appear in the Day that will be counted 
of the earliest and of the latter time, in which 
all will contradict God, their Lord; and if they 
disagree not in the Cause of God; and if they 
bear not enmity to His ordained and decreed 
Law; then know that verily they will be the 
Leaves of the Tree of Unity, and Its Fruits, and 
by whom the clouds shall rain, and the sky shall 
lift with favour--if ye are of the assured--and 
they will be of the Family of God among ye, 
and His Household in your midst, and His 
Favour upon the creatures--if ye are of those 
who know.  From them the Breezes of God 
shall blow upon ye, and the Winds of the Might 
of the Beloved will pass by those who are nigh.  
They will be the Pen of God and His Cause and 
His Word among mankind, and by them they 
receive and bestow--if thou art of the instructed.  
 
By them the earth is illumined with the Light 
of thy Lord, and the Signs of His Favour appear 
unto those who deny not the Signs of God.  
Then whosoever listeneth to them, will have 
surely listened to Me, and whosoever shunneth 
<p28> 
them, will have shunned the Path of God, The 
Protector, The Self-Subsistent.  
 
Thou shalt soon find the opposition of the 
contradictors, and their haughtiness upon Us, 
and their oppression upon Ourselves, without 
any proof, or any preserved Book.  Say: O 
people, verily they are the Signs of God among 
ye.  Beware, and dispute not with them, and 
kill them not, and be not of those who oppress 
and are senseless.  They are the captives of 
God on the earth, and have fallen under the 
hands of the oppressors in this land, which is 
situated behind lofty mountains.  All this was 
inflicted upon them whilst they were yet little 
ones in the world, and had no sin--nay rather, 
in the Path of God, The Powerful, The Potent, 
The Mighty, The Beloved.  
 
But the One who will appear among them in 
illuminate knowledge, God will cause the Verses 
of His Power to flow from His Tongue, and He 
is the One to whom God has assigned His 
Cause.  Verily there is no God but Him, in 
Whom is the creation and the command, and 
verily we are all performing His Commands.  
 
I beg God to incline them to His obedience, 
and to nourish them with that whereby their 
mind is satisfied, and the minds of those who 
are facing the direction of God at every instant, 
and to overlook their oppression, and to ordain 
them of those who will inherit the Heaven of 
Paradise from before God, The Mighty, The 
Protector, The Self-Subsistent.  
 
<p29> 
 
EXTRACT FROM ANOTHER TABLET BY 
THE BLESSED PERFECTION 
 
Verily I have devoted My Soul and My Spirit 
for the exaltation of The Word, and for glorifying 
the Command of Thy Lord, the Mighty, The 
Benevolent.  If I see any one of the Branches 
opposing that which God hath desired, in truth 
He will expel him, and we are The Powerful, 
The Avenger.  
 
EXTRACT FROM THE "TABLET RIZWAN EL 
IGRAR" (THE GARDEN OF CONFESSION).  
 
Revealed by The Blessed Perfection to Aga Mohammed 
Aly Yazdi, who is still living 
in Sidon.  (July, 1900) 
 
...My Eye weeps, and the eyes of Aly weep 
before the Supreme Companion; and My Heart 
laments, and the heart of Mohammed laments 
under the Canopy of Abha; and my Mind cries 
out, and the minds of the Apostles cry out before 
the Sadrat-el-Montaha, if ye are of the onlookers.  
 
My sadness is not for Myself, but for the One 
Who shall come after Me in the Shadow of the 
Command with Manifest and Evident Power.  
Verily there are who will not consent to His 
Manifestation, and will protest against His 
Verses, and will disbelieve His Proof, and will 
fight against His Person, and will use deceit in 
His Affair, just as they are inflicting upon Him 
in these days, and ye are witnessing thereto.  

 
Verse revealed in Koran (Chap. 39) regarding 
the word "choose." 
 
<p30> 
 
"And We have given the Book of Koran in 
heritage unto such of Our servants as We have 
chosen: of them (there is) who oppresseth his 
own soul[1]; and of them (there is) who keepeth 
midway[2]; and of them (there is) who outstrippeth 
in good works, by the permission of 
God.  
[1. By not practicing what he is taught and 
commanded in the Koran.]  
[2. That is, who performs his duty for the 
most part, but not perfectly.]  
 
EXTRACT FROM THE "TABLET OF JAMAL."  
REVEALED BY THE BLESSED 
PERFECTION 
 
...Make mention of Him in thy days, and the 
misfortunes that were inflicted upon Him by 
those who had not discerned the scent of faithfulness, 
and followed fancies.  Verily thou art 
informed of what was inflicted upon Us in the 
Land of Mystery, by the oppression of those 
two persons (Mirza Riza-gholi and his sister) 
of the God, the Lord of the Days.  God seized 
one of them by the violence of His Presence, 
and when he saw them, he said.  "I have repented 
before Thee, Oh Thou in Whose Grasp 
is the Guiding rein of mankind."  
 
At length he was present and did penitence 
in hypocrisy, and the Lord rent not the veil until 
the fixed hour came.  
 
And when We entered the Prison (Acca) he 
committed such deeds that the veneration of 
God was destroyed amidst His servants.  By 
<p31> 
My Life, We were patient and veiled it, until the 
matter reached to such a degree that the Cause 
was on the point of changing.  So We expelled 
him and his sister from the Gate.  
 
Oh Jamal!  I have expended My Soul and 
My Life to honour the Word, and honour the 
Cause of thy Lord, The Mighty, The Beneficent.  
If we see any one of the Branches in opposition 
to that which is desired by God, in 
truth We will expel him; and I am The Powerful 
and The Avenger.  Verily thou art informed of 
their deeds (Mirza R. and sister.)  By God, the 
Eye of Pre-Existence wept under the Most 
High Canopy, and the Righteous Ones lamented 
for that which they committed.  
 
EXTRACT FROM THE BOOK OF BADI, 
REVEALED BY THE BLESSED 
PERFECTION 
 
...Oh ye who are heedless of the meanings 
of the Divine Words, and oh ye who are not 
benefited by the fruits of the Lordly Tree!  First 
understand what is the religion of the Beyan, 
and what is the purpose of the Point of Revelation 
(Whose grandeur is exalted) of His Words 
and of His Signs; then occupy yourselves in investigation.  
Be not of those souls who interpret 
the Divine Words according to their sensual 
passions, and falsify the meanings thereof.  
 
This is the religion of Beyan, as follows: 
 
He calls the Origin of the Manifestation, a 
Tree, and the Branches, Twigs, Leaves and 
Fruit, the Appearances of that Manifestation, as 
<p32> 
it will be observed.  For example, the First 
Point Himself (may the spirit of what is beside 
Him, redeem Him) was the Tree of Divine 
Manifestation, and the followers of His Cause 
were all counted as His Leaves, Branches, 
Twigs and Fruit.  Likewise consider all other 
Manifestations, and mention them under whatsoever 
name thou mayest please.  
 
For example, take the Point of Revelation as 
the Ocean, and the others as Its Waves.  Likewise 
as the Sun, and the others as Mirrors.  In 
this Station, if He says to each one of the Appearances 
of the Manifestation, "He is Me, and 
I am Him," it is true, and there is no doubt of 
it.  Such are the Letters of the Living, some of 
whom are yet alive....  (As far as His Exalted 
Speech, which says) If the Person of the Manifestation 
says to every Tree of those Trees 
planted in this holy Ground, that this is a Proof 
to all things, verily it is the Proof; just as He 
has created the Proofs from before times ... as 
far as His Exalted speech (may its remembrance 
be honoured) which says: "Know that as long 
as they are under the shadow of God, and are 
depending upon His Name, these names will be 
true, and this honor will remain upon them.  But 
after transgressing and exceeding the limitations, 
The Robe of Honour of Names will be 
stripped from off them, and they will be mentioned 
by God as rejected and cast away."  ...as 
far as His exalted speech (may His Explanation 
be honoured) which says as follows: "Consider 
<p33> 
the Appearance of the Manifestation as 
the Fruit of the Tree of the Manifestation, and 
of these Fruits they are counted, as long as they 
are holding to the Tree.  But after being cut off 
from the Tree, they will be so changed by the 
blowing of the winds of passion and lust, that 
they will be deprived of, and lose all flavour, 
delicacy and freshness."  
 
EXTRACT FROM THE SAME BOOK 
 
...In the Appearance of the Manifestation, 
naught is seen but the Self of the Manifestation.  
Therefore, in all the Appearances of the Manifestation, 
whether in the age of the Koran, Gospel, 
Psalms or Bible, naught is seen but the Self 
of the Manifestation.  Likewise, in the people 
of the Beyan, naught is seen but the Manifestation 
of the Point of the Beyan; that is, as long 
as they are under the shade of the Beyan.  And 
if one leave it (I take refuge in God) naught is 
seen in him but only Satan and his deeds.  
 
EXTRACT FROM A TABLET TO A WOMAN, 
REVEALED BY THE BLESSED PERFECTION 
IN ADRIANOPLE 
 
...O My Maid-servant, thus did My sister; 
the world deluded her to such an extent that she 
denied God, The Mighty and The Wise.  Verily 
We have not condemned her unto thee on account 
of Ourself, but when she contradicted 
God, We turned away from her.  In this wise, 
We commanded from before The Powerful and 
The Potent.  
 
<p34> 
 
We have cut off the rope of relationship between 
Us and her, by an order from before Him, 
for she disbelieved in Him Who hath created 
her, and verily God is a Witness to that which 
I say.  
 
If one of My sons should exceed beyond the 
ordinances of God, by God, My Eye shall not 
turn to him at all, and to this bear witness all 
the just and the informed.  
 
Verily thou, O My Maid-servant, guard thyself, 
lest relationship prevent thee from God, 
thy Lord, and the Lord of the creatures.  Cut 
off the ties from all relations and hold to the 
relationship of God, The Forgiver and The Merciful.  
By God! with His relationship, the people 
will be in no need of the relationship of all creatures.  
 
...Verily We have cut off the rope of relationship 
from all relations except those who believe 
in God and turn away from infidels.  O 
My servants, if one among ye may hear that his 
brother or sister hath turned away from God, 
it behooveth him to turn away from him or her, 
and turn to God, the Beloved of the sincere.  
 
TALKS WITH OUR LORD AT THE TABLE AT 
DIFFERENT TIMES, AUGUST, 1900 
 
Our Lord said that He had seen the faces of 
the American believers and He was very glad
--for their faces were radiant with the Light of 
the Covenant of God, for the faces of those who 
violated the Covenant of God would appear 
veiled in darkness.  
 
<p35> 
 
The Covenant of God is like the sun--the 
brilliance and light of the Covenant radiates and 
shines forth from the faces of those who are firm 
in it.  He said "I pray to the Blessed Perfection 
that He will so turn their faces to the Covenant, 
that all America may be enlightened by the 
brightness of their light."  Abdel Kerim stands 
with the greatest sincerity in the Cause of God.  
Beholding the likeness of these believers is, as 
it were, bringing them into the Holy Place.  
 
He said that He prayed for them all in the 
visit to the Holy Tomb.  He sends His best 
greetings and love to all the believers; though 
they are not present bodily, they are present 
in the heart, and their remembrance brings the 
greatest joy and fragrance.  
 
Our Lord said: How strange it is that I am 
from Persia, and you are from America.  It is a 
long distance from America to Persia.  The 
greatness of the power of the Cause of God is 
manifested in bringing this to pass.  
 
During the thirty years of Christ's life, there 
were only eleven believers, and at the end of His 
life, even they wavered, until Mary Magdalen 
confirmed them in the truth of God--but the 
radiance of this Sun has been felt from here to 
America, and notwithstanding all this, the violaters 
desire to quench the Light of the Covenant 
of God.  They wish to extinguish this 
Light, but they do not know that the Light of 
God's Covenant is kindled and comes from the 
Presence of God, and though it were surrounded 
<p36> 
by all the winds of the earth, they could not prevail 
to blow it out.  
 
The existent contingent world was shaken by 
the Covenant of God, and yet they wish to remove 
it by their most weak power.  It is as 
if a handful of earth should endeavor to stop the 
waves of the ocean.  It is like a mote trying to 
stop the rays of the sun from reaching the earth.  
 
Christ said that He would not drink of the 
fruit of the vine, until He took it in the kingdom 
of His Father.  There are no grapes in that 
kingdom; the meaning is spiritual.  

 
"As we find ourselves eating with each other 
here, so we hope that we shall partake of the 
Divine Food with each other in the Kingdom of 
Heaven.  The body is quickened by this food, 
but by the spiritual food, the spirit is quickened.  
The first is for giving power and force to the 
body, whilst the essential food is for giving 
power and force to the spirit.  The body needs 
food to give it strength, but the spirit is purified 
by the essential food.  Without food the body 
will perish; so also, the spirit will die without 
the spiritual food.  Bread is the food of the body, 
whilst the Breath of God is the food of the 
Spirit.  The Gifts and Favours of God are the 
food of the spirit, so also is the love of God, and 
affection and union."  
 
Then looking at the photographs of the 
American believers, our Lord said: "The faces 
are reflected in the hearts and minds, and not on 
<p37> 
the paper.  The reflection is not durable on the 
paper, but it is so in the hearts.  The figures on 
the paper may fade, but when they are in the 
heart, they are preserved from fading and destruction."  
He was sorry that Dr. Kheiralla had 
thrown away the great foundation God had prepared 
for him.  It sometimes happens that God 
crowns a man with His great mercies and favours, 
and that then the man, with his own 
hands, takes off the crown and casts it on the 
ground.  
 
Many of these faces bear good tidings of the 
Kingdom--they shall progress in the Cause 
greatly.  Only you must wait three or four years, 
and then you will see a great advancement in 
the Cause of God.  This is, as it were, only the 
beginning of the fall of the rain--it is raining 
now, drop by drop.  The believers in America 
are like a field in which the corn has newly 
sprung up.  This is the dawn of the day, when 
only a faint, few rays of the sun are visible.  As 
in the early morning, only a faint radiance is 
visible in the horizon, so it is now.  The people 
in America see the truth but little now, but the 
Sun of Truth will shine brightly there afterwards.  
 
We must remember that this truth is not for 
the people of a single religion, or for a single 
nation; therefore we must be able to give proofs 
that will completely satisfy the seeker from each 
religion.  If we give proofs from the Taurat, 
that will only convince the Jews; if from the 
<p38> 
Gospels, the Christians only will believe; if from 
the Koran, it will appeal only to the Mohammedans; 
and so on with all the other religions.  But 
this religion is a universal one--a religion for 
the whole world, therefore we must be able to 
convince each one from his own standpoint.  
 
To every one who believes in an inspired 
Scripture, we are able to prove this religion 
from the signs given in their own Books, but 
as the religion is general and for every one, and 
not only for those who hold to inspired writings, 
therefore we must be able to give general arguments 
that will convince and satisfy the materialists 
and every kind of free thinker.  
 
The first thing to do is to satisfy the enquirer 
of the need of a Creator and an educator.  He 
must be sure that there can be nothing in the 
world of existence without a Power to put it into 
existence, and that nothing can grow or take 
effect without one who is complete and perfect 
to care for it.  For instance, a plant requires, in 
order to grow, the rays of the sun to shine upon 
it, the rain to water it, the breezes to blow upon 
it; otherwise it will not be properly developed.  
So too, with a child, unless he has some one to 
train him and instruct him, he would grow up a 
savage.  Though everything in this world receives 
growth and development by natural laws, 
yet we find the cultivator necessary to give order 
and arrangement.  Not only does the plant 
require for its existence the sun, rain and 
breezes, but it also needs a gardener to watch 
<p39> 
over and cultivate it, in order that it may gain 
its full perfection.  If a garden is left to itself, 
it quickly becomes a wilderness; the flowers 
will not attain full beauty, and the trees will not 
produce good fruit.  So it is with the souls.  
After they have been put into existence by the 
Being, it is necessary for them to have an instructor, 
in order that they may progress and 
develop and attain their highest station, and 
their every good and progress depends on such 
a trainer.  
 
For instance, before the manifestation of 
Moses, when Moses gave his instructions and 
commands to the Hebrew people, they were 
savage and uncivilized, and so inferior to the 
Egyptians that they would not hire them as servants, 
but gave them the roughest, rudest work 
to do.  But when Moses appeared among them, 
and opened before their faces the Gates of Divine 
Favours, by receiving the spiritual knowledge, 
they became, from its light, a great and 
civilized nation, renowned for their learning and 
their arts.  
 
Before Christ manifested, the Sun of the Revelation 
of Moses had disappeared from the horizon 
of this world, and for a long period the people 
had lost its light, and had sunk into a condition 
of abasement and subjection, but when 
this new Instructor, this new Educator, appeared, 
they received a new impetus and a new 
life from His teachings, and then the effect 
showed itself in a new and great civilization.  
 
<p40> 
 
When Mohammed appeared in the wilderness 
of Hadjaz, the people were wandering tribes in 
the lowest depths of idolatry and paganism.  So 
degraded were they, that they used to bury their 
own children alive.  He delivered his teachings 
to savage tribes, even far more savage than the 
Arabs of the present day, but under the power 
and life of the instructions imparted to them by 
Mohammed, these barbarians quickly became a 
civilized people, and from them appeared men 
famed for their learning and arts and sciences 
throughout the whole world.  
 
According to history, sixty centuries have 
elapsed since the time of Adam, the first man of 
whom we have any record, but never in any 
period of this long age, has humanity been in 
the high condition in which it is now, in inventions, 
sciences, arts and material prosperity of 
every kind.  All historians are agreed in this 
fact, that there never has been such a time of 
high attainment for humanity as exists in this 
nineteenth century.  This is nothing but the effect 
of the highest and most perfect Revelation.  
The Blessed Perfection has appeared upon the 
horizon of this world from the Kingdom of 
Eternity, and the effect of the Rays of His Glory 
is visible in every direction.  And this is true, 
even though its effects are only partially visible 
now, for His Laws and Commands have not 
yet been put into practice, by means of which 
the highest development of humanity will be 
possible.  If such a high condition is apparent 
<p41> 
now, in the beginning of this Revelation, what 
a great state must we not look for when the full 
power of Its Light is manifested.  
 
August. 10th 
 
There are two kinds of attachments or unions
--one the material or elementary, that is to say, 
the attachment that is formed by means of the 
four elements.  
 
Such is the union between members of an 
household.  In order to furnish people's needs 
and desires, and to obtain their comforts and 
conveniences, they must have attachment, communication, 
friendship and concord.  As long 
as there is no bond nor communication between 
the members of an household, there is no comfort 
nor rest for them, and they cannot have their 
needs supplied.  From the household, turn to 
the people of a city.  When citizens are linked 
one with another, if one wishes to build a house, 
he can send for materials and masons, and then 
for carpenters to construct the doors, window 
frames, etc.  Each one must be linked with the 
other, in order that they may communicate with 
and help one another.  Then when several cities 
are united together, they form a territory 
or dominion.  In one part of this territory perhaps 
they grow rice, whilst in another part of 
it, there may be no rice, but some other kind of 
grain or food, and each part can prepare something 
the other is in need of.  So we see the 
union between cities is the same as between 
members of an household.  This is the material 
<p42> 
attachment or union of the four elements.  The 
more solid the union between the people of the 
material world, the greater will be their comforts.  
In the beginning, when man was created, 
he only thought of himself.  He thought "What 
shall I do for myself?"  But when presently he 
became united with others, a household was 
formed, and then he began to think of them, of 
their wants and desires, and then he cried 
"What shall I do for them?"  So at first, he only 
thought of himself, and secondly for his family.  
Afterwards many families united together, and 
so were formed into a city, and man then begun 
to think from the family to the city, and said, 
"What shall we do for the city?"  Then many cities 
united together and constituted a territory or 
country, then the thoughts of the people were 
"What shall we do for the progress of our 
country?"  Afterwards because of intercommunication, 
the wisdom of people began to consider 
"What shall we do for the comfort of our 
race?"  Now all this effect was caused by the 
power of communication, which enabled them to 
think of the wide world, instead of only themselves 
and their families.  You will see in the 
future that the power of communication will be 
greatly strengthened in this age, so that in time, 
all mankind will unceasingly consider the comfort, 
right guidance and well-being of the 
others.  
 
These bonds of union that we have been considering, 
have to do only with material conditions, 
<p43> 
and are important as enabling bodily necessities 
to be furnished--they are necessary for 
uniting one with another, and for furnishing the 
needs of the material world.  
 
Now if we compare these bonds and their connections 
with the spiritual union, we will find 
that there is no comparison between the degree 
of one with the other.  It is like a drop of water 
to the ocean, or a grain of sand to the whole.  
And we will surely find that the spiritual union 
is absolutely necessary for the attachment and 
happiness of the essential or spiritual world.  
 
We have two conditions or states of life--the 
material and the essential.  If we consider the 
material life of the world, which only lasts for 
40, 50 or 100 years, we will find it is nothing in 
comparison with the spiritual life.  The body is 
in existence only for a certain time, but the essence 
or soul is of far other duration.  So as we 
find that the essential or spiritual life, is greater 
and better than the material, we must know also 
that the spiritual links must be so much the 
higher and greater than the bodily ties.  There 
can be no greater or stronger tie than that which 
exists between the brother and sister, or between 
the father, mother and children.  But 
when a member of a family dies, his relations 
follow his remains to the grave, mourn his departure 
a short time, and then take up the work 
of life without him.  
 
Now let us consider the power of the spiritual 
union or connection.  For instance, those who 
<p44> 
live in the world a thousand years from to-day, 
will read of those who are living now in this great 
day, and will have great honour for them.  They 
have connection with us by a spiritual union, 
and they will think of us who have been in the 
days of this Manifestation.  This is a proof of 
the infinite superiority of the spiritual over the 
material union.  Look at the solidity of the 
spiritual union.  For instance, we think of Abraham 
and his followers, and we rejoice as we 
speak of their good qualities, although so many 
hundreds of years have passed since their time.  
This is one of the effects of the Spiritual union.  
 
We who are at this time, under the guidance 
of the directions of the Blessed Perfection, hope 
to reach to the fullest extent and highest degree 
of the union between the spiritual and material, 
because when the spiritual connections unite 
with the material connections, everything will 
be complete both in the spiritual and in the material.  
Then, when these two are united and 
become one, the earth shall become the Paradise 
of Abha.  
 
The mass of stones is formed of single atoms.  
If there were no connection between these 
atoms, formation would be impossible.  Next 
above this stage comes the plant life.  There the 
connection is greater than that of the stones, 
because the stones are only formed of atoms by 
the power of attraction, but with the plants there 
are two kinds of connections--one is the connection 
of atoms by which the plant is formed, 
<p45> 
and the other is the power of growth.  So there 
is a greater bond in the plant than in the stone, 
because the stone has only a single connection, 
whereas the plant has two.  In the animal life, 
we find three connections--first, that which belongs 
to the atom; then that which belongs to 
the power of growth manifest in plants, and to 
the animal life, there is added a third bond--
that of sensation and feeling, for, if we break a 
bough from a tree, there is no sensation in the 
tree; but if a man breaks an arm or a limb, his 
whole body suffers, because he has the power of 
feeling.  That power is not found in the other 
kingdoms.  Now, all these connections in the 
stone, plant or animal, are material, but when 
we come to the highest point of the existence, 
we find man, who is greater than all in wisdom 
and power.  Man himself, is both spiritual and 
material, for, in man, we find that, in addition 
to all the material connections, is added the 
spiritual connection or union.  

 
Our Lord said that people should come from 
the east and from the west; that Persians and 
Americans should come from different parts and 
meet at the Holy Place.  There are two sorts of 
meetings, the meeting of the body, and the 
meeting of the souls.  People can live in the 
same house, and be of the same flesh and blood, 
and eat at the same table, and yet be at variance, 
because they are not one in heart, but that 
others, even though they have different customs 
<p46> 
and habits, and be of different races, would be 
in love and harmony when they came together, 
because their souls had met.  For instance, Judas 
Iscariot, though he was with his Lord so much, 
yet did not know Him, because his heart was 
far distant.  

 
We are in the condition of babes in the womb; 
the baby does not understand why it has eyes, 
ears, etc.  It has no use for them there, but 
when it leaves the womb, then it finds their use.  
So through the revealed laws of our God, we 
gain the spiritual features or powers, as it were, 
of which we shall understand the real use after 
leaving the body.  

 
Our Blessed Lord said: It is not the body 
that feels pain or trouble, but the soul.  If we 
have a pain in our arm, the defect is in the body, 
but it is the soul that feels the pain and is troubled, 
not the body, though the body is the cause 
of the trouble.  
 
There are two kinds or conditions of life or 
existence.  There is that existence which is palpable 
to our touch, but does not grow or feel--
the mineral kingdom.  Then there is the higher 
stage of existence--the plant life, which grows, 
but cannot feel.  Above this, is the animal kingdom, 
which is palpable to the touch, and has the 
power of growth and feeling, but cannot attain 
to the position or grade of man, which is the 
highest degree of all.  That which is lower, cannot 
<p47> 
perceive the higher.  The minerals cannot 
understand or feel the plants, the plants cannot 
understand or perceive the animals, and the animals 
cannot understand man.  Now, these grades 
all belong to one kingdom; they are all composed 
of matter.  If it is impossible for these 
different kingdoms belonging to the same world, 
to understand the other, rather is it impossible 
for man to understand the things of the future 
life.  For, as is the difference between these 
grades or conditions, so is the difference between 
man and the spiritual kingdom--it is impossible 
for him to perceive or understand it, 
because he has no power with which to perceive 
it.  As a child in the womb of its mother could 
not understand if some one were to tell him 
about the world outside, so is the human condition 
on this earth.  We can form no conception 
or idea of the heavenly kingdom, because we 
have no senses with which to perceive it.  
 
As it is not yet shown while the child is in the 
womb of its mother, what its condition will be, 
whether it will have all the gifts of God or not, 
whether it will be perfect in all its members or 
not, whether it will be blind, or deaf, or dumb--
but afterwards, when it enters the world, then it 
becomes clearly apparent if it is defective or 
not--so it is with the soul in this present state.  
Its perfection or its lackness is not understood 
until it enters the heavenly kingdom; then it is 
clearly seen, and then the soul understands 
whether or not it is lacking in the gifts of God.  
 
<p48> 
 
All the time too that the child is in the womb 
of its mother, it receives all its life and nourishment 
from outside of itself; if it were cut off 
from that life, it would be in a dead state; so it 
is with the soul here, if it is cut off from its 
spiritual food, it is dead.  
 
As the child in the womb does not yet know 
the use of its members, it does not know what 
its eyes are for, neither its nose, nor ears, nor 
tongue--so also it is with the soul on earth.  It 
cannot understand here the uses and powers of 
its spiritual gifts, but directly it enters the eternal 
kingdom, it will become clearly apparent.  

 
Fasting is of two kinds--spiritual and material.  
The spiritual fasting comes first, and is 
the soul's refusal or denial of all kinds of evil 
actions and habits--this is the important fasting.  
The bodily fasting or abstinence from 
food, is a sign or witness to the inward fasting, 
and is of no value by itself.  But when both 
kinds of fasting go together, then the effect upon 
the soul is as "light upon light."  

 
The meaning of Christ's saying "Verily I say 
unto you, this generation shall not pass away till 
all these things be fulfilled" is this: There are 
two generations--a spiritual one and a physical 
one.  Thirty-three years is counted one physical 
generation (Christ himself was thirty 
years old when He began to teach, and was 
crucified when He was thirty-three) but in this 
<p49> 
saying, Christ was not speaking of the physical 
but of the spiritual generation or epoch, and 
meant that His dispensation or epoch would not 
pass away, until all things should be fulfilled--
which took place at the coming of Mohammed.  

 
Our Lord explained the real meaning of 
Christ's saying that He should come from Heaven 
at His second coming, as follows: "That 
heaven is the same that Christ spoke of when 
He said 'I came down from Heaven, not to do 
Mine own will, but the Will of Him who sent 
Me.'  And also when He said 'No man hath 
ascended into heaven, but He that came down 
from heaven, even the Son of man, who is in 
heaven.'  Christ here said of Himself that He 
came down from heaven, although He was born 
of Mary.  For His coming to this earth must 
be both spiritually and materially--spiritually, 
from the Heaven of the Divine Will, and in a 
material body, that He may be manifested on 
this earth to us.  There are not two heavens; 
the only real heaven is the Heaven of the Divine 
Will; it is not the empty space to which 
we give the name of 'the heavens'--it cannot be 
that Christ would come from there."  
 
THE ISRAELITES 
 
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness--
that is the outer story.  The meaning of the wilderness 
is pride, which its name "Teen" also 
signifies.  That is why it is said that the Israelites 
<p50> 
could not advance on their way to the 
Promised Land, because it is impossible for 
those who are in the wilderness of pride to make 
any spiritual progress.  Another reason why the 
Israelites were so long in entering and inheriting 
the Promised Land, which in reality belonged 
to them, was that they were afraid to 
fight their enemies, though God had promised 
that they should overcome them.  We also, if 
we lose heart, and cease to hold to the Garment 
of God's mercies and promises, shall be detained 
from the promised blessings.  
 
THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY GHOST 
 
Our Exalted Lord said that the meaning of 
Christ's saying that he that speaketh against 
the Father and the Son, it shall be forgiven him, 
but he that speaketh against the Holy Ghost, 
shall not be forgiven, is this: Speaking against 
God means to keep far from Him--to deny Him
--this is the same as cursing Him.  Now we 
cannot know the Father or the Son, but 
through the Holy Spirit; it is impossible to approach 
God in any way except by the Holy 
Spirit.  The way for mankind to the Holy Spirit 
is open, but not the way to the Father or the 
Son.  For the Father and the Son is like the 
physical sun, and the Holy Spirit like its rays.  
We can only see the sun and receive its benefits 
through its rays, and we have no means of approaching 
the sun except through its rays.  
There is no reality in those who say that they 
<p51> 
believe in God, and yet deny the Holy Spirit, 
as do the Jews, who for centuries have worshipped 
God, and yet have denied His Holy 
Spirit--such cannot really believe in God.  

 
Our Exalted Lord said that a great Manifestation 
appears on the earth every 500,000 years.  
The difference between a great Manifestation 
and a lesser One, is as that between the sun and 
the planets.  The 7th "day" of Genesis, 1st chapter, 
refers to the Great Manifestation.  
 
MELCHISEDECK 
 
When the writer of the "Epistle to the Hebrews" 
spoke of Melchisedeck, he did so in 
order to prove to the Jews that the spiritual 
relationship is far higher, greater, and more to 
be considered than the material; that, even 
though as the Jews objected, Christ was not of 
the line of Levi from which line all the priests 
came, and so, they said, He could not be the 
promised Messiah--yet neither was Melchisedeck 
also, and yet Abraham gave him tithes, 
showing that he was a prophet.  That he is said 
to be without father, mother, etc., means that, 
though according to the flesh, he was not of the 
line of Levi by either father or mother, yet, according 
to the Spirit, he was a true prophet and 
priest, and therefore, as he was of the Spirit, 
and the Spirit is eternal, it can be said of him 
that he was without beginning and without 
end.  
 
<p52> 
 
THE TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS 
 
It would be impossible, even if the devil were 
to take Christ up to the very top of the highest 
mountain in the world, that he could see more 
than a very small part of it, and even if he were 
to rise high up above the world, he could not 
do more, for the world is round, not flat.  The 
"high mountain" means a high condition; the 
devil signifies the human nature of Christ.  Now, 
human nature always desires the things of the 
senses, so here we are told, that the promptings 
of Christ's human nature showed Him that He 
could attain, with His great powers, if He chose, 
the highest ruler in the world, and the greatest 
possible earthly position, if He would only "fall 
down and worship"--that is, follow the ways of 
the world.  But the Holy Spirit in Christ refused 
to worship; it was impossible for Him to 
do so, for all the earthly glories were as nothing 
to Him in comparison with doing the "Will 
of the Father."  
 
BAPTISM 
 
John the Baptist baptized the people with 
water, but he said that the one who was to come 
after him would baptize with fire.  What is the 
meaning of this, for in the material world, these 
two elements are contrary the one to the other, 
and then, if Christians take the water literally, 
they ought also to take the fire literally.  The 
meaning is this: as everything in the material 
world has its beginning of life in water, so water 
<p53> 
is a type of the beginning of the spiritual life--
the new birth, which also John preached when 
he exhorted people to repent, and so their 
hearts were changed from material desires to a 
living faith in God.  When the soul has begun 
this new life, then the fire of the love of God will 
purify them into a higher condition.  
 
THE NEW NAME 
 
In reference to the "new name" of Revelations, 
our dear Lord said that the new name has a 
spiritual and inward meaning, not an outward 
one, that it does not mean something that can 
be pronounced by the tongue, but it means that 
when a soul comes into the great Kingdom of 
God, the "attributes" or "names" of God light 
upon him, and by this he receives new consciousness 
and new understanding, and he becomes 
a new man.  Just, as when in springtime, 
the sun and rain come to the earth, all the trees 
and herbs spring up and bear new flowers.  Man 
is, as it were, in shadow, but when the sun 
shines upon him, all the shadows disappear.  
 
REDEMPTION 
 
The Jews taught that every man who commits 
sin must redeem himself by the sacrifice of 
an animal.  When Christ taught that He was 
the living bread that gave life to the world, His 
followers understood "life" to mean, the forgiveness 
of sins.  But the real redemption is, 
when a man wishing to give the knowledge of 
<p54> 
their God to the people, sacrifices himself--that 
is to say, he strips himself from all the cares of 
the body, from his rest, comforts, and pleasures, 
and thinks only of the service of God and giving 
the truth to the people.  Now it is certain 
that one man cannot stand up against all the 
world without danger to himself; he will be 
opposed on every side, and his life will be in 
danger.  Our dear Lord said that, for Himself, 
His life was not safe for one moment--if He 
considered His safety, He would never walk in 
the street, as His enemies might attack Him at 
any time.  Now when He left the table, He 
might receive a telegram from the Sultan's 
officers, ordering Him to be put in prison.  But 
all this was nothing to Him.  The service of 
El-Beha is everything.  

 
In answer to a question asked Seyyid Mohsin 
as to whether or not our Lord was not the same 
as the Blessed Perfection, because the same 
power was manifested in Both, he said that our 
Lord always said that their difference was the 
same as is the difference between the sun and 
the moon.  The light of the sun subsists in 
itself, while the moon receives her light from 
the sun.  Both shine and give light, but the one 
from itself, and the other by reflection.  

 
Our Lord said that, when He was a little boy 
in Teheran, He was followed and beaten by 
boys and people, because He was a Babi, but 
<p55> 
His own people were very glad of this, for they 
knew that the power of God is manifested in 
persecution.  If a tree is watered by the sun 
and the rain falls upon it, is it any the worse if 
a little dust falls upon its leaves?  If the father 
is pleased with his child, what does it care about 
the neighbors' opinion?  

 
At this time, those who serve in the Covenant 
shall find that which they can only realize 
now as a drop will become a mighty ocean, and 
the star will become a sun.  In autumn and winter 
we see few changes in the growth of plants, 
but in spring and summer great changes come 
rapidly.  So it is at this time--this is the spring 
time, and therefore we must expect and look for 
a great and rapid growth of the souls and a development 
in every way--such as would not 
happen at another time, because this is the 
spring time.  

 
In the Kingdom of God, there is no difference 
between the men and the women; both 
are considered alike--only the one who works 
the hardest surpasses the other.  In the time of 
Christ, women were the great agents in spreading 
the Kingdom.  The disciples would not 
have been confirmed if it had not been for them
--Peter would not have been strengthened.  In 
cultivating a garden, it makes no difference 
whether the gardener is a man or a woman--
but if the woman works hard and takes care of 
<p56> 
the plants, she will certainly have a better reward 
than the man who idles.  

 
All the Beloved of the Lord will have great 
trouble, but unless we suffer, we will not be 
fitted to receive the Powers and Gifts of God.  
At the time of Christ and soon after His death, 
those who taught the doctrine and spread the 
Light, were persecuted in every way, but those 
witnesses received great spiritual gifts which 
those coming after did not receive.  Unless the 
ground is first ploughed up, it is not able to receive 
the seeds and bear fruit.  The tree spends 
all its powers in growing, in trying to become 
taller and greater, and when the rain beats 
upon its leaves, it becomes all the fresher, 
greener and stronger.  

 
All the teachers of the religion of God are 
like a doctor healing a sick person--the sick 
man does not like the medicine, but the doctor 
knows what will do him good better than he 
does, and must try and heal him with the remedies.  
Humanity is in a sick condition, and does 
not love the Commands of God, but these are 
they only which will bring happiness.  Teachers 
are like schoolmasters--the children do not like 
their lessons, and are not sorry if the teacher 
falls ill, or some trouble happens which prevents 
him from giving them their lessons.  So it will 
be with the spiritual guides--human nature does 
not desire the things of the Kingdom.  But the 
<p57> 
teachers must be wise, and gently draw souls into 
the Kingdom by all means in their power, 
and then the Mercy and the Power and the Gifts 
of God will rest upon them.  The weak will become 
strong who work in this great cause, the 
little ones great, the ignorant wise, and the weak 
women will be as strong men.  

 
Jesus Christ said only a few words to Peter, 
telling him that upon that rock He would build 
His church.  He left no written instruction or 
will, and yet because it was the Word of God, 
it took root, and millions have obeyed it.  And 
now, when the Covenant has been written and 
established, how can anyone be foolish enough 
to imagine that they can resist it?  No, the Ensign 
of the Covenant has reached to the Supreme 
Heights, and its authority will be spread 
all over the earth.  
 
INSTRUCTIONS FROM OUR LORD 
 
The kingdom of Heaven resembles the year.  
As the year has four seasons, so also the kingdom 
of God on earth has its periods or seasons, 
and remember that the seasons are caused by 
the movement of the earth, and not by the 
movement of the sun.  
 
Before the coming of the spring, the earth 
looks as if dead and lifeless, but when it appears, 
all the world seems to spring into life and brightness
--into a new existence of beauty and joy.  
All nature is clad in fresh green, the grass 
<p58> 
springs up, the leaves bud, and the trees are 
covered with blossoms.  But the spring passes, 
and then comes the summer, in which the promise 
of the spring is fulfilled; the spring blossoms 
ripen into fruit, and the fields are covered with 
yellow grain; the result of the new life of the 
spring is manifested.  Then comes the autumn, 
in which the life of the spring and summer 
begins slowly to fade, and finally winter 
comes round, and the life of the earth seems to 
be completely extinct--dead.  
 
So it is also in the spiritual things.  The cycle 
of every prophet has its period of spring, of 
summer, of autumn and of winter.  When 
Moses appeared, and the new Life and Light of 
God shone on the earth through him, the people 
to whom he came were as dead souls--without 
life.  But when he gave his teaching, then began 
the spring time of souls, and they awoke 
into life, full of joy and beauty.  Afterwards 
came the period of their summertime when the 
lives of these followers of Moses had become 
gradually fashioned and moulded by his teachings, 
and the fruit of his labors appeared.  But 
after a time, hearts became heavy, faith grew 
slack, and the people gradually lost the truth 
and reality of the revelation of their great teacher, 
and then presently the period of their winter 
came, when they grew corrupted by outer 
influences, and were as dead, without fruits and 
without life.  
 
Then came the spring time of the revelation 
<p59> 
of Jesus Christ, which also, in its cycle, passed 
through the periods of rise, fullness, decline and 
fall, until, at the time of the appearance of Mohammed, 
the people were as dead--given over 
to materialities and dogmas, having lost the 
truth of the revelation of the Manifested Word.  
 
So too, with the revelation of Mohammed, it 
also passed through these same conditions, till, 
when the Blessed Perfection appeared, again the 
time of spring came to this earth, and to souls 
enveloped and shrouded in darkness, a new season 
of life and joy and gladness begin.  (The 
people that walked in darkness have seen a 
great light; they that dwelt in the land of the 
shadow of death, upon them hath the light 
shined.)  
 
That passage of the Old Testament in which 
it is said that Jerusalem shall go into the wilderness, 
could not mean that the city of Palestine 
should be removed into the wilderness--no, it 
means that a new Revelation of God should appear 
in the wilderness, which took place when 
Mohammed preached to those wild tribes in the 
desert--savage, uncivilized people as they were.  
 
But always, when the word of God is manifested, 
the eyes of the spiritually blind are 
opened, the ears that were deaf to the Voice of 
the Holy Spirit, are at last unsealed; those who 
were crippled in the powers of their soul, become 
strong; the lame man leaps as an hart, and 
the tongue of the dumb shall sing the praises of 
God.  
 
<p60> 
 
INSTRUCTIONS FROM OUR LORD 
 
Life is of two kinds--material and spiritual.  
If we wish to understand what the spiritual life 
is, we must look to the material world, which 
is an outward figure or symbol of the inward 
spiritual reality.  For instance, there are two 
suns--a spiritual one, and also a material--an 
outward and an inward.  When we consider the 
physical symbol or picture, we shall understand 
something of the spiritual sun, of which it is 
the outer mirror.  For, as when the sun rises 
and shines on the earth, all existence receives 
life and benefit from its rays, and without it, 
there would be no life; so also, when the real, 
the spiritual sun arises and shines in this world, 
all souls receive their life and light from Its Appearance, 
and without It, they would remain in 
a condition of darkness and death.  Also, as by 
reason of the earth, the sun seems to appear 
and disappear, in reality to itself, there is no 
rising and no setting, but it remains always in 
the same glory of light.  So it is with the spiritual 
Sun.  It has Its time or period of Epiphany 
and Its time of Occultation on this earth, when 
It manifests to humanity, and then disappears 
from their view.  But to Itself, there is no Epiphany 
and no Occultation, and the Kingdom of 
Heaven is a continuous Kingdom--an eternal 
dominion in the souls.  John the Baptist called 
the people to repentance, and to be baptized of 
him, in order to prepare them for the appearance 
of the Light of the Spiritual Sun, which 
<p61> 
was then on the point of arising to illuminate 
the world.  The time of John the Baptist was 
like the early dawn which precedes the Light.  
 
INSTRUCTIONS FROM MOWLANA 
 
We must first find out whether he who claims 
to be a prophet, is surely so or not; then if we 
find that he is, we must accept whatever he says, 
because his voice is the voice of God, and he has 
the creative power, and what he commands or 
does, must be the will of God.  
 
He has the power to abrogate the commands 
of the preceding Revelator, as did Jesus, who 
broke the Sabbath, although the keeping of the 
Sabbath was one of the strictest commands of 
Moses.  For this reason, the Jews rejected His 
teachings, not knowing that every Revelator 
gives and establishes his own laws.  The revelation 
of Moses was not like the revelation of 
Abraham, as the revelation of Jesus was unlike 
the revelation of Moses.  The Revelator is 
thereby over all preceding commands, as is 
shown when Jesus said to the woman that was 
a sinner, who bathed His Feet, "Thy sins be 
forgiven thee," although the sin of adultery, according 
to the law of Moses, was one of the 
gravest.  Although the prophet gives laws and 
commands to the people, he is not bound by 
the laws, because he is lord and maker of the 
laws.  
 
<p62> 
 
INSTRUCTIONS FROM MOWLANA FOR 
FIRST TEACHINGS 
 
Every material thing we see around us, represents 
some spiritual idea.  As there is an outward, 
material reality, so there is also an inward, 
spiritual reality.  Take for example--the 
sun; there is a material sun, and there is also a 
spiritual sun.  As the physical sun rises and 
sets, so also does the spiritual sun.  When the 
sun rises, the darkness vanishes.  So also, when 
the Sun of Truth arises, all errors and ignorance 
disappear.  As everything in the world depends 
entirely upon the material sun for life 
and growth, and for producing fruit--for without 
its rays, no fruit would be possible--so also, 
without the Light of the Spiritual Sun, souls 
can produce no fruit, but where It shines, fruits 
follow in due season.  Unless we dig and plant 
a piece of ground, and have a gardener to care 
for the plants, we can have no garden; we shall 
have no beautiful flowers or plants, but there 
will be a wild forest instead.  So also, with children, 
unless they have some one to rear them 
and care for them, and cultivate their minds, 
they would become like wild animals.  Everything 
in the world must have some thing or 
some one to care for it, to enable it to live and 
grow.  As the children need a teacher, a trainer, 
so also the souls need a Master.  Who are these 
Masters, who train souls in spiritual knowledge?  
They are the Prophets, who teach in 
the school of God, and they are the greatest and 
highest of all teachers and instructors.
-- Bahai Prayers (1900)