Texts 1 - 19
1
The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is
the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of
His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who
representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His
Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this
duty hath attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived
thereof hath gone astray, though he be the author of
every righteous deed. It behoveth every one who
reacheth this most sublime station, this summit of
transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him
Who is the Desire of the world. These twin duties are
inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other.
Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Source of
Divine inspiration.
2
They whom God hath endued with insight will
readily recognize that the precepts laid down by God
constitute the highest means for the maintenance of
order in the world and the security of its peoples. He
that turneth away from them is accounted among the
abject and foolish. We, verily, have commanded you to
refuse the dictates of your evil passions and corrupt
desires, and not to transgress the bounds which the Pen
of the Most High hath fixed, for these are the breath of
life unto all created things. The seas of Divine wisdom
and Divine utterance have risen under the breath of the
breeze of the All-Merciful. Hasten to drink your fill, O
men of understanding! They that have violated the
Covenant of God by breaking His commandments, and
have turned back on their heels, these have erred
grievously in the sight of God, the All-Possessing, the
Most High.
3
O ye peoples of the world! Know assuredly that
My commandments are the lamps of My loving
providence among My servants, and the keys of My
mercy for My creatures. Thus hath it been sent down
from the heaven of the Will of your Lord, the Lord of
Revelation. Were any man to taste the sweetness of the
words which the lips of the All-Merciful have willed to
utter, he would, though the treasures of the earth be in
his possession, renounce them one and all, that he
might vindicate the truth of even one of His
commandments, shining above the Dayspring of His
bountiful care and loving-kindness.
4
Say: From My laws the sweet-smelling savour of
My garment can be smelled, and by their aid the
standards of Victory will be planted upon the highest
peaks. The Tongue of My power hath, from the heaven
of My omnipotent glory, addressed to My creation
these words: "Observe My commandments, for the love
of My beauty." Happy is the lover that hath inhaled the
divine fragrance of his Best-Beloved from these words,
laden with the perfume of a grace which no tongue can
describe. By My life! He who hath drunk the choice
wine of fairness from the hands of My bountiful favour
will circle around My commandments that shine above
the Dayspring of My creation.
5
Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere
code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice
Wine with the fingers of might and power. To this
beareth witness that which the Pen of Revelation hath
revealed. Meditate upon this, O men of insight!
6
We have enjoined obligatory prayer upon you,
with nine &rak'ahs, to be offered at noon and in the
morning and the evening unto God, the Revealer of
Verses. We have relieved you of a greater number, as a
command in the Book of God. He, verily, is the
Ordainer, the Omnipotent, the Unrestrained. When ye
desire to perform this prayer, turn ye towards the Court
of My Most Holy Presence, this Hallowed Spot that
God hath made the Centre round which circle the
Concourse on High, and which He hath decreed to be
the Point of Adoration for the denizens of the Cities of
Eternity, and the Source of Command unto all that are
in heaven and on earth; and when the Sun of Truth and
Utterance shall set, turn your faces towards the Spot
that We have ordained for you. He, verily, is Almighty
and Omniscient.
7
Everything that is hath come to be through His
irresistible decree. Whenever My laws appear like the
sun in the heaven of Mine utterance, they must be
faithfully obeyed by all, though My decree be such as to
cause the heaven of every religion to be cleft asunder.
He doeth what He pleaseth. He chooseth, and none
may question His choice. Whatsoever He, the Well-Beloved,
ordaineth, the same is, verily, beloved. To
this He Who is the Lord of all creation beareth Me
witness. Whoso hath inhaled the sweet fragrance of the
All-Merciful, and recognized the Source of this
utterance, will welcome with his own eyes the shafts of
the enemy, that he may establish the truth of the laws
of God amongst men. Well is it with him that hath
turned thereunto, and apprehended the meaning of His
decisive decree.
8
We have set forth the details of obligatory prayer
in another Tablet. Blessed is he who observeth that
whereunto he hath been bidden by Him Who ruleth
over all mankind. In the Prayer for the Dead six specific
passages have been sent down by God, the Revealer of
Verses. Let one who is able to read recite that which
hath been revealed to precede these passages; and as for
him who is unable, God hath relieved him of this
requirement. He, of a truth, is the Mighty, the
Pardoner.
9
Hair doth not invalidate your prayer, nor aught
from which the spirit hath departed, such as bones and
the like. Ye are free to wear the fur of the sable as ye
would that of the beaver, the squirrel, and other
animals; the prohibition of its use hath stemmed, not
from the &Qur'an, but from the misconceptions of the
divines. He, verily, is the All-Glorious, the All-Knowing.
10
We have commanded you to pray and fast from
the beginning of maturity; this is ordained by God,
your Lord and the Lord of your forefathers. He hath
exempted from this those who are weak from illness or
age, as a bounty from His Presence, and He is the
Forgiving, the Generous. God hath granted you leave
to prostrate yourselves on any surface that is clean, for
We have removed in this regard the limitation that had
been laid down in the Book; God, indeed, hath
knowledge of that whereof ye know naught. Let him
that findeth no water for ablution repeat five times the
words "In the Name of God, the Most Pure, the Most
Pure", and then proceed to his devotions. Such is the
command of the Lord of all worlds. In regions where
the days and nights grow long, let times of prayer be
gauged by clocks and other instruments that mark the
passage of the hours. He, verily, is the Expounder, the
Wise.
11
We have absolved you from the requirement of
performing the Prayer of the Signs. On the appearance
of fearful natural events call ye to mind the might and
majesty of your Lord, He Who heareth and seeth all,
and say "Dominion is God's, the Lord of the seen and
the unseen, the Lord of creation".
12
It hath been ordained that obligatory prayer is to
be performed by each of you individually. Save in the
Prayer for the Dead, the practice of congregational
prayer hath been annulled. He, of a truth, is the
Ordainer, the All-Wise.
13
God hath exempted women who are in their
courses from obligatory prayer and fasting. Let them,
instead, after performance of their ablutions, give
praise unto God, repeating ninety-five times between
the noon of one day and the next "Glorified be God, the
Lord of Splendour and Beauty". Thus hath it been
decreed in the Book, if ye be of them that comprehend.
14
When travelling, if ye should stop and rest in
some safe spot, perform ye--men and women alike--a
single prostration in place of each unsaid Obligatory
Prayer, and while prostrating say "Glorified be God,
the Lord of Might and Majesty, of Grace and Bounty".
Whoso is unable to do this, let him say only "Glorified
be God"; this shall assuredly suffice him. He is, of a
truth, the all-sufficing, the ever-abiding, the forgiving,
compassionate God. Upon completing your
prostrations, seat yourselves cross-legged--men and
women alike--and eighteen times repeat "Glorified be
God, the Lord of the kingdoms of earth and heaven".
Thus doth the Lord make plain the ways of truth and
guidance, ways that lead to one way, which is this
Straight Path. Render thanks unto God for this most
gracious favour; offer praise unto Him for this bounty
that hath encompassed the heavens and the earth; extol
Him for this mercy that hath pervaded all creation.
15
Say: God hath made My hidden love the key to the
Treasure; would that ye might perceive it! But for the
key, the Treasure would to all eternity have remained
concealed; would that ye might believe it! Say: This
is the Source of Revelation, the Dawning-place
of Splendour, Whose brightness hath illumined the
horizons of the world. Would that ye might understand!
This is, verily, that fixed Decree through which
every irrevocable decree hath been established.
16
O Pen of the Most High! Say: O people of the
world! We have enjoined upon you fasting during a
brief period, and at its close have designated for you
&Naw-Ruz as a feast. Thus hath the Day-Star of
Utterance shone forth above the horizon of the Book as
decreed by Him Who is the Lord of the beginning and
the end. Let the days in excess of the months be placed
before the month of fasting. We have ordained that
these, amid all nights and days, shall be the manifestations
of the letter &Ha, and thus they have not been
bounded by the limits of the year and its months. It
behoveth the people of &Baha, throughout these days, to
provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and,
beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and
exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His
praise and magnify His Name; and when they end
--these days of giving that precede the season of
restraint--let them enter upon the Fast. Thus hath it
been ordained by Him Who is the Lord of all mankind.
The traveller, the ailing, those who are with child or
giving suck, are not bound by the Fast; they have been
exempted by God as a token of His grace. He, verily, is
the Almighty, the Most Generous.
17
These are the ordinances of God that have been set
down in the Books and Tablets by His Most Exalted
Pen. Hold ye fast unto His statutes and commandments,
and be not of those who, following their idle
fancies and vain imaginings, have clung to the
standards fixed by their own selves, and cast behind
their backs the standards laid down by God. Abstain
from food and drink from sunrise to sundown, and
beware lest desire deprive you of this grace that is
appointed in the Book.
18
It hath been ordained that every believer in God,
the Lord of Judgement, shall, each day, having washed
his hands and then his face, seat himself and, turning
unto God, repeat "&Allah-u-Abha" ninety-five times.
Such was the decree of the Maker of the Heavens when,
with majesty and power, He established Himself upon
the thrones of His Names. Perform ye, likewise,
ablutions for the Obligatory Prayer; this is the
command of God, the Incomparable, the Unrestrained.
19
Ye have been forbidden to commit murder or
adultery, or to engage in backbiting or calumny; shun
ye, then, what hath been prohibited in the holy Books
and Tablets.
Texts 1 - 19 |