Condition of those who “have died in sin and unbelief”

It is even possible for those who have died in sin and unbelief to be transformed, that is, to become the object of divine forgiveness. This is through the grace of God and not through His justice, for grace is to bestow without desert, and justice is to give that which is deserved. As we have the power to pray for those souls here, so too will we have the same power in the next world, the world of the Kingdom. Are not all the creatures in that world the creation of God? They must therefore be able to progress in that world as well. And just as they can seek illumination here through supplication, so too can they plead there for forgiveness and seek illumination through prayer and supplication. Thus, as souls can progress in this world through their entreaties and supplications, or through the prayers of holy souls, so too after death can they progress through their own prayers and supplications, particularly if they become the object of the intercession of the holy Manifestations. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Table talks in Akka, authenticated by ‘Abdu’l-Baha; published as ‘Some Answered Questions’ – 2014 revised translation by the Baha’i World Centre)

Ancient burial practices

The peoples of ancient Persia believed that earth-burial was not even permissible; that such burial, to a certain degree, would block the coursings and journeyings required by nature. For this reason they built Towers of Silence open to the sky, on the mountain tops, and lay the dead therein on the surface of the ground. But they failed to observe that burial in the earth doth not prevent the natural travellings and coursings which are an exigency of creation — that rather, earth-burial, besides permitting the natural march of phenomena, offereth other benefits as well.

And briefly stated, beyond this, although the human soul hath severed its connection with the body, friends and lovers are still vehemently attached to what remaineth, and they cannot bear to have it instantly destroyed. They cannot, for example, see the pictured face of the departed blotted out and scattered, although a photograph is only his shadow and in the end it too must fade away. So far as they are able, they protect whatever remainder they have of him, be it only a fragment of clay, a tree, or a stone. Then how much more do they treasure his earthly form! Never can the heart agree to look on the cherished body of a friend, a father, a mother, a brother, a child, and see it instantly fall to nothing — and this is an exigency of love.

Thus the ancient Egyptians mummified the body that it might remain intact to the end of time, their belief being that the longer the dead endured, the nearer they would draw to the mercy of their gods. Yet the Hindus of India cremate the body without any concern, and indeed the burning is a solace to their hearts. This lack of concern, however, is fortuitous: it deriveth from religious beliefs and is not a natural thing. For they suppose that the more rapidly the body is destroyed, the nearer it will come to divine compassion. This is the opposite of what the ancient Egyptians believed. The Hindus are even persuaded that, as soon as the body is with great rapidity disintegrated, forgiveness will be assured, and the dead will be blessed forever more. It is this belief which reconcileth them to the cremation. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Tablet to Laura Clifford Barney, translated by Marzieh Gail and included in ‘Summon up Remembrance (George Ronald, Oxford, 1987), translated on behalf of the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, March 1987)

Consequences of “obedience” and “disobedience” to Bahá’u’lláh

I swear by the righteousness of Thy Lord, the Lord of all created things, the Lord of all the worlds! Were a man to rear in this world as many edifices as possible and worship God through every virtuous deed which God's knowledge embraceth, and attain the presence of the Lord, and were he, even to a measure less than that which is accountable before God, to bear in his heart a trace of malice towards Me, all his deeds would be reduced to naught and he would be deprived of the glances of God's favour, become the object of His wrath and assuredly perish. For God hath ordained that all the good things which lie in the treasury of His knowledge shall be attained through obedience unto Me, and every fire recorded in His Book, through disobedience unto Me. Methinks in this day and from this station I behold all those who cherish My love and follow My behest abiding within the mansions of Paradise, and the entire company of Mine adversaries consigned to the lowest depths of hell-fire . . . 

- The Báb (Selections from the Writings of the Báb; Fire and Light: Excerpts from the Bahá'í Sacred Writings by Báb, The, Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi Compiled by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice; The Baha’i World 1979-1983)

“Dispute not with any one concerning the things of this world and its affairs”

Dispute not with any one concerning the things of this world and its affairs, for God hath abandoned them to such as have set their affection upon them. Out of the whole world He hath chosen for Himself the hearts of men -- hearts which the hosts of revelation and of utterance can subdue. Thus hath it been ordained by the Fingers of Baha, upon the Tablet of God's irrevocable decree, by the behest of Him Who is the Supreme Ordainer, the All-Knowing. 

- Baha'u'llah (Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah; The Baha’i World, 1944-1946)

What humanity will witness during the Formative and Golden Ages of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh

During this Formative Age of the Faith, and in the course of present and succeeding epochs,

• the last and crowning stage in the erection of the framework of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh -- the election of the Universal House of Justice -- will have been completed,
• the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Mother-Book of His Revelation, will have been codified and its laws promulgated,
• the Lesser Peace will have been established,
• the unity of mankind will have been achieved and its maturity attained,
• the Plan conceived by 'Abdu'l-Bahá will have been executed,
• the emancipation of the Faith from the fetters of religious orthodoxy will have been effected, and its independent religious status will have been universally recognized,

whilst in the course of the Golden Age, destined to consummate the Dispensation itself,

• the banner of the Most Great Peace, promised by its Author, will have been unfurled,
• the World Bahá'í Commonwealth will have emerged in the plenitude of its power and splendor,
• and the birth and efflorescence of a world civilization, the child of that Peace, will have conferred its inestimable blessings upon all mankind. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 5 June 1947’, ‘Citadel of Faith: Messages to America 1947-1957’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, The Significance of the Formative Age of Our Faith)

The “twofold nature” of one’s “task”

Let every believer, desirous to witness the swift and healthy progress of the Cause of God, realize the twofold nature of his task. Let him first turn his eyes inwardly and search his own heart and satisfy himself that in his relations with his fellow-believers, irrespective of colour and class, he is proving himself increasingly loyal to the spirit of his beloved Faith. Assured and content that he is exerting his utmost in a conscious effort to approach nearer every day the lofty station to which his gracious Master summons him, let him turn to his second task, and, with befitting confidence and vigour, assail the devastating power of those forces which in his own heart he has already succeeded in subduing. Fully alive to the unfailing efficacy of the power of Bahá'u'lláh, and armed with the essential weapons of wise restraint and inflexible resolve, let him wage a constant fight against the inherited tendencies, the corruptive instincts, the fluctuating fashions, the false pretences of the society in which he lives and moves. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 12 April 1927 to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, published in "Bahá'í Administration: Selected Messages 1922-1932"; ; 'The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Excellence in All Things')

Opposition as the Baha’i “Movement… grows from strength to strength”

We cannot believe that as the Movement grows in strength, in authority and in influence, the perplexities and the sufferings it has had to contend with in the past will correspondingly decrease and vanish. Nay, as it grows from strength to strength, the fanatical defendants of the strongholds of Orthodoxy, whatever be their denomination, realizing the penetrating influence of this growing Faith, will arise and strain every nerve to extinguish its light and discredit its name. For has not our beloved 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent forth His glowing prophecy from behind the prison walls of the citadel of 'Akká -- words so significant in their forecast of the coming world turmoil, yet so rich in their promise of eventual victory...

Dearly-beloved friends, upon us devolves the supreme obligation to stand by His side, to fight His battles and to win His victory. May we prove ourselves worthy of this trust. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 12 February 1927 to the Bahá'ís of the West, published in "Bahá'í Administration: Selected Messages 1922-1932", p. 123; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Opposition)

Hand of the Cause Mullá ‘Alí-Akbar – a brief account by ‘Abdu’l-Baha

Yet another Hand of the Cause was the revered Mullá ‘Alí-Akbar, upon him be the glory of God, the All-Glorious. Early in life, this illustrious man attended institutions of higher learning and labored diligently, by day and night, until he became thoroughly conversant with the learning of the day, with secular studies, philosophy, and religious jurisprudence. He frequented the gatherings of philosophers, mystics, and Shaykhís, thoughtfully traversing those areas of knowledge, intuitive wisdom, and illumination; but he thirsted after the wellspring of truth, and hungered for the bread that comes down from Heaven. No matter how he strove to perfect himself in those regions of the mind, he was never satisfied; he never reached the goal of his desires; his lips stayed parched; he was confused, perplexed, and felt that he had wandered from his path. The reason was that in all those circles he had found no passion; no joy, no ecstasy; no faintest scent of love. And as he went deeper into the core of those manifold beliefs, he discovered that from the day of the Prophet Muhammad’s advent until our own times, innumerable sects have arisen: creeds differing among themselves; disparate opinions, divergent goals, uncounted roads and ways. And he found each one, under some plea or other, claiming to reveal spiritual truth; each one believing that it alone followed the true path—this although the Muhammedic sea could rise in one great tide, and carry all those sects away to the ocean floor. “No cry shalt thou hear from them, nor a whisper even.” [Cf. Qur’án 19:98]

Whoso ponders the lessons of history will learn that this sea has lifted up innumerable waves, yet in the end each has dissolved and vanished, like a shadow drifting by. The waves have perished, but the sea lives on. This is why ‘Alí Qabl-i-Akbar [Mullá ‘Alí-Akbar] could never quench his thirst, till the day when he stood on the shore of Truth and cried:

Here is a sea with treasure to the brim;

Its waves toss pearls under the great wind’s thong.

Throw off your robe and plunge, nor try to swim,

Pride not yourself on swimming—dive headlong.

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk; ‘Memorials of the Faithful’)

Teaching the Cause: - “A teacher…must first teach himself, and then others”

A teacher must proceed in this way: he must first teach himself, and then others. If he himself still walks the path of carnal appetites and lusts, how can he guide another to the “evident signs” [Qur’án 3:91] of God? 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk; ‘Memorials of the Faithful')

“‘When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended'”

The Will of the divine Testator is this: It is incumbent upon the Aghsán, the Afnán and My Kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch. Consider that which We have revealed in Our Most Holy Book: ‘When the ocean of My presence hath ebbed and the Book of My Revelation is ended, turn your faces toward Him Whom God hath purposed, Who hath branched from this Ancient Root.’ The object of this sacred verse is none other except the Most Mighty Branch [‘Abdu’l-Bahá]. Thus have We graciously revealed unto you Our potent Will, and I am verily the Gracious, the All-Powerful. Verily God hath ordained the station of the Greater Branch [Muḥammad ‘Alí] to be beneath that of the Most Great Branch [‘Abdu’l-Bahá]. He is in truth the Ordainer, the All-Wise. We have chosen ‘the Greater’ after ‘the Most Great’, as decreed by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All Informed. 

- Baha’u’llah (Kitab-i-‘Ahd [Book of the Covenant]; Tablets of Baha’u’llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

“qualities” that are “the cause of peace, security and tranquillity”: - “trustworthiness and godliness...sincerity and goodwill amongst mankind”

We ask God, exalted be His glory, to confirm each one of the friends in that land in the acquisition of such praiseworthy characteristics as shall conduce to the spread of justice and equity among the peoples of the world. The first, the fundamental purpose underlying creation hath ever been, and will continue to be, none other than the appearance of trustworthiness and godliness, of sincerity and goodwill amongst mankind, for these qualities are the cause of peace, security and tranquillity. Blessed are those who possess such virtues. 

- Baha’u’llah ('The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Trustworthiness')

Not “to dramatize the personages of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, that is to say to treat them as dramatic figures, as characters appearing on the stage”

As to your question concerning the advisability of dramatizing Bahá'í historic episodes; the Guardian would certainly approve, and even encourage that the friends should engage in such literary pursuits which, no doubt, can be of an immense teaching value. What he wishes the believers to avoid is to dramatize the personages of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, that is to say to treat them as dramatic figures, as characters appearing on the stage. This, as already pointed out, he feels would be quite disrespectful. The mere fact that they appear on the scene constitutes an act of discourtesy which can in no way be reconciled with their highly exalted station. Their message, or actual words, should be preferably reported and conveyed by their disciples appearing on the stage. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 25 July 1936 written on behalf of the Guardian to a individual believer; compilation ‘Representation of Manifestations of God and the Master in Portraits, Photographs, and Dramatic Presentations’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

“Vicious criticism is indeed a calamity. But its root is lack of faith in the system of Bahá'u'lláh (i.e. the administrative order) and lack of obedience to Him”

Vicious criticism is indeed a calamity. But its root is lack of faith in the system of Bahá'u'lláh (i.e. the administrative order) and lack of obedience to Him - for He has forbidden it. If the Bahá'ís would follow the Bahá'í laws in voting, in electing, in serving, and in abiding by assembly decisions, all this waste of strength through criticizing others could be diverted into cooperation and achieving the Plan." 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated December 18, 1949, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; Compilation on ‘Criticism: Extracts from letters written on behalf of the Guardian to individual believers’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

“Every act of the Blessed Beauty constitutes in itself a consummate proof”

The assistance of the Blessed Beauty brings about extraordinary things. Every act of the Blessed Beauty constitutes in itself a consummate proof. In one of my early writings I wrote that in the eyes of the possessors of insight the doings of Him Who is the Sovereign Truth have no equal. For instance, if the Blessed Beauty asked after someone's health, although outwardly a common expression, it could give to a person who was perceptive hints as to the wisdom and mystery hidden in the words spoken on that occasion. Thus it is that God in all His actions is distinct from all others, just as a wise man displays in all his actions the signs of wisdom. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a conversation, August 3, 1912, Dublin, USA, recorded by Mahmud Zarqani, His secretary and chronicler during His travels in the West; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)

Calumnies and false accusations brought about against ‘Abdu’l-Baha and the exiles in Haifa and the impartiality of the Sultan

Last year some of the known and unknown, friends and strangers, slandered, calumniated and presented false accusations against these exiled ones, before the throne of His Imperial Majesty, the Padeshah[Sultan] of the Ottomans; while these oppressed ones were entirely free from those calumnies. The government, conformable with prudent measures, arose to investigate these calumnies and dispatched some commissioners (or examiners) to this city. Therefore it is evident that the field which was found by the ill-wishers and the flood which was brought about by them, can neither be written nor explained. However, relying upon God, we conducted ourselves with the utmost patience and submission, resignation and calmness; so much so that if one did not know anything about these matters, he would have thought that we were in perfect ease of soul, enjoying the tranquillity of heart and mind, and were engaged in happiness and felicity. The matters reached to such an issue that the plaintiffs and calumniators entered into alliance and intrigue with the officials, in regard to the carrying out of the work of investigation. Consequently, the plaintiff, the magistrate and the witness became as one single soul. Therefore it is clear what things transpired! But here one witnesses the fairness and impartiality of His Imperial Majesty, the Padeshah of the Ottomans, who so far has not given any consideration to these slanders, statements, stories and calumnies, but has dealt with the utmost justice and equity. Truly, I say, if there had been any other person except this Padeshah, no trace of these exiled ones would remain. This is the truth! We must not overlook justice. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, vol. 1’)