Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf Let these exalted words be thy love-song on the tree of Bahá, O thou most holy and resplendent Leaf: 'God, besides Whom is none other God, the Lord of this world and the next!' Verily, We have elevated thee to the rank of one of the most distinguished among thy sex, and granted thee, in My court, a station such as none other woman hath surpassed. Thus have We preferred thee and raised thee above the rest, as a sign of grace from Him Who is the Lord of the throne on high and earth below. We have created thine eyes to behold the light of My counte ..read more

The law of consultation, as revealed by Bahá’u’lláh, is a fundamental teaching of the Faith. He tells us that through consultation the “maturity of the gift of understanding” is made manifest. “It is and will always be”, He states, “a cause of awareness and of awakening and a source of good and well-being.” “Consultation bestoweth greater awareness and transmuteth conjecture into certitude”, He further asserts. “It is a shining light which, in a dark world, leadeth the way and guideth.” Consultation paves the path of individual and collective endeavour. The growth, progress, and enduring unity ..read more

In a memorable Tablet, designated as the Súriy-i-Mulúk (Súrih of Kings) in which the Sultán himself and his ministers, and the kings of Christendom, and the French and Persian Ambassadors accredited to the Sublime Porte, and the Muslim ecclesiastical leaders in Constantinople, and its wise men and its inhabitants, and the people of Persia, and the philosophers of the world have been specifically addressed and admonished, He thus directs His words to the entire company of the monarchs of East and West:  - Shoghi Effendi  (‘The Promised Day Is Come ..read more

The beloved Guardian has stressed over and over again, that to effectively teach the Faith, the individual must study deeply the Divine Word, imbibe its life-giving waters, and feast upon its glorious teachings. He should then meditate on the import of the Word, and finding its spiritual depths, pray for guidance and assistance. But most important, after prayer is action. After one has prayed and meditated, he must arise, relying fully on the guidance and confirmation of Bahá’u’lláh, to teach His Faith. Perseverance in action is essential, just as wisdom and audacity are necessary for effectiv ..read more

A number of you have raised questions in your letters that revolve around the theme of strengthening the community. This, indeed, is a matter of fundamental importance, and every believer would do well to bear its requirements in mind. Already you have seen in the unity of thought and action achieved among the believers, in their enthusiasm and fellowship, the effect that performing your individual spiritual responsibilities has on the life of the community. There are a host of other factors that enhance the vitality of community life as well. Chief among them are the spiritual education provi ..read more

This community—the people of Bahá, ardent lovers of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá—now millions strong, has today spread to some one hundred thousand localities in 235 countries and territories. It has emerged from obscurity to occupy its place on the world stage. It has raised a network of thousands of institutions, from the grassroots to the international level, uniting divers peoples in the common purpose of giving expression to Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings for spiritual transformation and social progress. In many a region, its pattern of building vibrant local communities has embraced thousands—and in some, tens ..read more

Conferences throughout Togo What a purposeful and confident community it was that celebrated its accomplishments at the midway point of the current Plan in forty-one regional conferences across the globe! What an extraordinary contrast did its coherence and energy provide to the bewilderment and confusion of a world caught in a spiral of crisis! This, indeed, was the community of the blissful to which the Guardian had referred. This was a community aware of the vast potentialities with which it has been endowed and conscious of the role it is destined to play in rebuilding a broken wo ..read more

Indeed the wondrous story of her life propagated itself as far and as fast as that of the Báb Himself, the direct Source of her inspiration. “Prodige de science, mais aussi prodige de beauté” is the tribute paid her by a noted commentator on the life of the Báb and His disciples. “The Persian Joan of Arc, the leader of emancipation for women of the Orient … who bore resemblance both to the mediaeval Heloise and the neo-platonic Hypatia,” thus was she acclaimed by a noted playwright whom Sarah Bernhardt had specifically requested to write a dramatized version of her life. “The heroism of the ..read more

  The believers had secured a very pretty hall, which was most beautifully decorated with greens, plants and flowers, with large and small tables near the walls and round tables in the center. About fifty children and eighty adults were present. In a smaller room adjoining the hall the children had been assembled holding flowers in their hands, forming two lines for ‘Abdu’l-Baha to pass through. It looked most beautiful as ‘Abdu’l-Baha came upstairs. He passed through a short hall and looked so pleased and delighted to see the dear children. One of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Eastern attendants was ov ..read more

The quintessence of Truth is this: We must all become united and harmonized in order to illumine this gloomy world; to abolish the foundations of hostility and animosity from among mankind; to perfume the inhabitants of the universe with the holy fragrances of the nature and disposition of the Beauty of Abha; to enlighten the people of the East and West with the light of guidance; to hoist the tent of the love of God and suffer each and all to enter under its protection; to bestow comfort and tranquillity to every one under the shade of the Divine Tree; to astonish the enemy by the manifesta ..read more