These are indeed days the like of which no mortal eye hath ever seen. Blessed is he that attaineth thereunto and realizeth their full worth. "We had sent Moses with Our signs, saying unto him: 'Bring forth thy people from darkness into light and remind them of the days of God.'" (Qur’an 14:5) And these are in truth the days of God, could ye but know it.
- Baha'u'llah ('Gems of Divine Mysteries')
Formerly in Persia divorce was very easily obtained. Among the people of the past Dispensation a trifling matter would cause divorce. However, as the light of the Kingdom shone forth, souls were quickened by the spirit of Bahá'u'lláh, then they totally eschewed divorce. In Persia now divorce doth not take place among the friends, unless a compelling reason existeth which makes harmony impossible. Under such rare circumstances some cases of divorce take place.
- 'Abdu'l-Bahá (From a Tablet; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Divorce)
… it is … necessary … [that] every faithful follower of the Faith to accept the divine origin and uphold the independent status of the Muhammadan Dispensation. The validity of the Imamate is, moreover, implicitly recognized in these same passages -- that divinely-appointed institution of whose most distinguished member the Báb Himself was a lineal descendant, and which continued for a period of no less than two hundred and sixty years to be the chosen recipient of the guidance of the Almighty and the repository of one of the two most precious legacies of Islam.
- Shoghi Effendi (The Dispensation of Baha'u'llah)
…physical fasting is a symbol of the spiritual fasting, that is, abstaining from all carnal desires, becoming characterized with the attributes of the spiritual ones, attracted to the heavenly fragrances and enkindled with the fire of the love of God.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’, vol. 1)
The reality of man is his thought, not his material body. The thought force and the animal force are partners. Although man is part of the animal creation, he possesses a power of thought superior to all other created beings.
If a man’s thought is constantly aspiring towards heavenly subjects then does he become saintly; if on the other hand his thought does not soar, but is directed downwards to centre itself upon the things of this world, he grows more and more material until he arrives at a state little better than that of a mere animal.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, Paris, October 18, 1911, ‘Paris Talks’)
This is a festival wherein the Beauty of the Lord of Grandeur hath been exalted above all things, and wherein He, unveiled and unconcealed, hath proclaimed His will and purpose unto all that are in heaven and on earth. And this is but a token of His grace that hath pervaded the entire creation. Therein was the Temple of Bahá seated upon the throne of eternity, and the splendours of His countenance dawned above the horizon of creation with the light of wondrous glory. All hail then to this, the Festival of the Lord, that hath appeared above a horizon of wondrous grace!
- Baha’u’llah (‘Days of Remembrance’)
O My brother! Forsake thine own desires, turn thy face unto thy Lord, and walk not in the footsteps of those who have taken their corrupt inclinations for their god, that perchance thou mayest find shelter in the heart of existence, beneath the redeeming shadow of Him Who traineth all names and attributes. For they who turn away from their Lord in this day are in truth accounted amongst the dead, though to outward seeming they may walk upon the earth, amongst the deaf, though they may hear, and amongst the blind, though they may see, as hath been clearly stated by Him Who is the Lord of the Day of Reckoning: "Hearts have they with which they understand not, and eyes have they with which they see not...." (Qur’an 7:179) They walk the edge of a treacherous bank and tread the brink of a fiery abyss. (cf. Qur’an 9:109; 3:103) They partake not of the billows of this surging and treasure-laden Ocean, but disport themselves with their own idle words.
- Baha'u'llah ('Gems of Divine Mysteries')
About the consent of parents for marriage: this is required before and also after the man or woman is twenty-one years of age. It is also required in the event of a second marriage, after the dissolution of the first whether through death or through divorce.
The parental consent is also a binding obligation irrespective of whether the parents are Bahá'ís or not, whether they are friendly or opposed to the Cause. In the event of the death of both parents, the consent of a guardian is not required.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 10 October 1936 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; compilation ‘Consent of Parents to Marriage’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)
He has noted the question you had asked concerning the problem of marriage, and its infrequency among the believers in general. It is indeed a matter of deep regret to him that some of our young believers do not attach due importance to the question of marriage, and seem, as you state, to be under the impression that marital life has been discouraged in the Cause. This is certainly an erroneous conception, and whosoever takes the pain to carefully and intelligently read the words of Bahá'u'lláh, and to ponder over their implications, cannot but be convinced of the truth that in the Bahá'í Faith marriage, and family life, in particular, are both not only commendable, but constitute a social function of highest and indeed vital importance, as through them alone the human race is perpetuated.
The believers should well know that whereas Bahá'u'lláh has not made marriage a binding obligation, He has nevertheless attributed to it such spiritual and social significance as no individual believer, under normal circumstances, can well be justified in disregarding it. In fact, in His Book of Laws (the "Kitáb-i-Aqdas") He emphatically stresses its importance, and defines its essential purpose, namely the procreation of children and their training in the Religion of God, that they may know and adore Him, and mention and praise His Name.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, dated 17 February 1940; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Preserving Baha’i Marriages)
As to what thou didst ask regarding the history of the philosophers: history, prior to Alexander of Greece, is extremely confused, for it is a fact that only after Alexander did history become an orderly and systematized discipline. One cannot, for this reason, rely upon traditions and reported historical events that have come down from before the days of Alexander. This is a matter thoroughly established, in the view of all authoritative historians. How many a historical account was taken as fact in the eighteenth century, yet the opposite was proven true in the nineteenth. No reliance, then, can be placed upon the traditions and reports of historians which antedate Alexander, not even with regard to ascertaining the lifetimes of leading individuals.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablet of Wisdom questions and answers’, translated by Baha’i World Centre, published in ‘Ethel Jenner Rosenberg, the Life and Times of England's Outstanding Bahá'í Pioneer Worker’, by Robert Weinberg)
Question: Are there "earthbound" souls who try to have, and do have, an influence over people, sometimes taking entire possession of their wills?
'Abdu'l-Baha answered, "There are no earthbound souls. When the souls that are not good die, they go entirely away from this earth and so cannot influence anyone. They are spiritually dead. Their thoughts can have influence only while they are alive on the earth. Caiaphas had great influence during his life, but as soon as he died, his influence ceased. It was of this kind that Christ said, 'Let the dead bury their dead.' But the good souls are given eternal life, and sometimes God permits their thoughts to reach the earth to help the people.
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (From a table talk by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, ‘Daily Lessons Received at Akka January 1908”, by Helen Goodall and Ella Goodall Cooper)
Purity and chastity have been, and still are, the most great ornaments for the handmaidens of God. God is My Witness! The brightness of the light of chastity sheddeth its illumination upon the worlds of the spirit, and its fragrance is wafted even unto the Most Exalted Paradise....
- Baha’u’llah (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, "The Advent of Divine Justice; The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, A Chase and Holy Life)
Say: Beware, O people of Bahá, lest the strong ones of the earth rob you of your strength, or they who rule the world fill you with fear. Put your trust in God, and commit your affairs to His keeping. He, verily, will, through the power of truth, render you victorious, and He, verily, is powerful to do what He willeth, and in His grasp are the reins of omnipotent might.
- Baha’u’llah (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, ‘The Advent of Divine Justice’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Opposition)
O kings of the earth! Give ear unto the Voice of God, calling from this sublime, this fruit-laden Tree, that hath sprung out of the Crimson Hill, upon the holy Plain, intoning the words: ‘There is none other God but He, the Mighty, the All-Powerful, the All-Wise.’... Fear God, O concourse of kings, and suffer not yourselves to be deprived of this most sublime grace. Fling away, then, the things ye possess, and take fast hold on the Handle of God, the Exalted, the Great. Set your hearts towards the Face of God, and abandon that which your desires have bidden you to follow, and be not of those who perish.
- Baha’u’llah (Quoted by Shoghi Effendi, ‘The Promised Day Is Come’)
During thy supplications to God and thy reciting, “Thy Name is my healing," consider how thine heart is cheered, thy soul delighted by the spirit of the love of God, and thy mind attracted to the Kingdom of God! By these attractions one's ability and capacity increase. When the vessel is enlarged the water increases, and when the thirst grows the bounty of the cloud becomes agreeable to the taste of man. This is the mystery of supplication and the wisdom of stating one's wants.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Quoted by J.E. Esslemont in ‘Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era’; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation and the Devotional Attitude)