To become “kind hearted unto all human beings… a mercy unto souls, absolute goodness to all, a sign of kindness, a word of tenderness”

O thou who art attracted by the Word of God! Verily, I read thy letter which contained new significances. I ask God to make thee a new creature so that the lights of human perfections may shine through thee and to make thee kind hearted unto all human beings so that thou mayest be a mercy unto souls, absolute goodness to all, a sign of kindness, a word of tenderness. Verily, thy Lord is the Mighty, the Powerful! He reviveth whomsoever He wisheth by the spirit of righteousness and granteth unto whom He wisheth great bounty, guideth whom He wisheth unto the path of life and confirmeth whom He desireth in attaining the Kingdom of God.

As to thee, be confident in the mercy of thy Lord, and ask what thou desirest. Verily, God is the Generous, the Giver!  

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

References in the Bible concerning the Báb and the Dispensation of Muhammad

“And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.” [Rev. 12:5] This glorious son is the promised Manifestation, Who was born of the religion of God and reared in the bosom of the divine teachings. The iron rod is a symbol of might and power—it is not a sword—and means that He will shepherd all the nations of the earth by virtue of His divine might and power. And by this son is meant the Báb.

“And her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne.” [Rev. 12:5] This is a prophecy concerning the Báb, Who ascended to the Kingdom, the Throne of God, and the Seat of His sovereignty. Consider how closely this conforms to what indeed came to pass.

“And the woman fled into the wilderness”; [Rev. 12:6] that is, the religion of God betook itself to the desert, meaning the vast desert of Hijáz and the Arabian Peninsula.

“Where she hath a place prepared of God”; [Rev. 12:6] that is, the Arabian Peninsula became the home, the habitation, and the focal centre of the religion of God.

“That they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days”. [Rev. 12:6] According to the terminology of the Bible, these 1,260 days mean 1,260 years, as was before explained. Thus for 1,260 years the religion of God was fostered in the vast desert of Arabia, until the Promised One appeared. After these 1,260 years that religion ceased to be in effect, for the fruit of that tree had been manifested and its result had been produced. 

- ‘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)

“The essence of understanding”

The essence of understanding is to testify to one's poverty, and submit to the Will of the Lord, the Sovereign, the Gracious, the All-Powerful. 

- Baha'u'llah (‘Tablets of Baha'u'llah revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

“Blessed are the rulers and the learned among the people of Bahá”

It is incumbent upon everyone to aid those daysprings of authority and sources of command who are adorned with the ornament of equity and justice. Blessed are the rulers and the learned among the people of Bahá. They are My trustees among My servants and the manifestations of My commandments amidst My people. Upon them rest My glory, My blessings and My grace which have pervaded the world of being. In this connection the utterances revealed in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas are such that from the horizon of their words the light of divine grace shineth luminous and resplendent. 

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

“from the very beginning mothers must rear their infants in the cradle of good morals”

Among the safeguards of the Holy Faith is the training of children, and this is among the weightiest of principles in all the Divine Teachings. Thus from the very beginning mothers must rear their infants in the cradle of good morals -- for it is the mothers who are the first educators - -so that, when the child cometh to maturity, he will prove to be endowed with all the virtues and qualities that are worthy of praise.

And further, according to the Divine commandments, every child must learn reading and writing, and acquire such branches of knowledge as are useful and necessary, as well as learning an art or skill. The utmost care must be devoted to these matters; any neglect of them, any failure to act on them, is not permissible. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet, The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Baha’ Education)

“show forth the utmost consideration to the animal, and that ye be even kinder to him than to your fellow-man”

Briefly, it is not only their fellow human beings that the beloved of God must treat with mercy and compassion, rather must they show forth the utmost loving-kindness to every living creature. For in all physical respects, and where the animal spirit is concerned, the selfsame feelings are shared by animal and man. Man hath not grasped this truth, however, and he believeth that physical sensations are confined to human beings, wherefore is he unjust to the animals, and cruel.

And yet in truth, what difference is there when it cometh to physical sensations? The feelings are one and the same, whether ye inflict pain on man or on beast. There is no difference here whatever. And indeed ye do worse to harm an animal, for man hath a language, he can lodge a complaint, he can cry out and moan; if injured he can have recourse to the authorities and these will protect him from his aggressor. But the hapless beast is mute, able neither to express its hurt nor take its case to the authorities. If a man inflicts a thousand ills upon a beast, it can neither ward him off with speech nor hale him into court. Therefore is it essential that ye show forth the utmost consideration to the animal, and that ye be even kinder to him than to your fellow-man. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Conservation of the Earth's Resources)

“attributes of perfection”

Other attributes of perfection [in addition to “learning and the cultural attainments of the mind”, and “justice and impartiality”] are to fear God, to love God by loving His servants, to exercise mildness and forbearance and calm, to be sincere, amenable, clement and compassionate; to have resolution and courage, trustworthiness and energy, to strive and struggle, to be generous, loyal, without malice, to have zeal and a sense of honor, to be high-minded and magnanimous, and to have regard for the rights of others. Whoever is lacking in these excellent human qualities is defective. If We were to explain the inner meanings of each one of these attributes, “the poem would take up seventy maunds [A measure of weight, in Tihrán equivalent to six and two-thirds pounds of paper.]” 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’)

“man is made in God’s image: yet the Essence of God is incomprehensible to the human mind”

In the Old Testament we read that God said, ‘Let us make man in Our own image’. In the Gospel, Christ said, ‘I am in the Father, and the Father in Me’. In the Qur’án, God says, ‘Man is my Mystery and I am his’. Bahá’u’lláh writes that God says, ‘Thy heart is My home; purify it for My descent. Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for My manifestation’.

All these sacred words show us that man is made in God’s image: yet the Essence of God is incomprehensible to the human mind, for the finite understanding cannot be applied to this infinite Mystery. God contains all: He cannot be contained. That which contains is superior to that which is contained. The whole is greater than its parts.

Things which are understood by men cannot be outside their capacity for understanding, so that it is impossible for the heart of man to comprehend the nature of the Majesty of God. Our imagination can only picture that which it is able to create. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, October 20, 1911, Paris; ‘Paris Talks: Addresses given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris in 1911-1912’)

“this is the arena of insight and detachment, of vision and upliftment”

This is not a Cause which may be made a plaything for your idle fancies, nor is it a field for the foolish and faint of heart. By God, this is the arena of insight and detachment, of vision and upliftment, where none may spur on their chargers save the valiant horsemen of the Merciful, who have severed all attachment to the world of being. These, truly, are they that render God victorious on earth, and are the dawning-places of His sovereign might amidst mankind.  

- Baha’u’llah (The Kitab-i-Aqdas; Compilation on ‘Unlocking the Power of Action”, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

“the nature of the soul”

Thou hast asked Me concerning the nature of the soul. Know, verily, that the soul is a sign of God, a heavenly gem whose reality the most learned of men hath failed to grasp, and whose mystery no mind, however acute, can ever hope to unravel. It is the first among all created things to declare the excellence of its Creator, the first to recognize His glory, to cleave to His truth, and to bow down in adoration before Him. If it be faithful to God, it will reflect His light, and will, eventually, return unto Him. If it fail, however, in its allegiance to its Creator, it will become a victim to self and passion, and will, in the end, sink in their depths. 

- Baha’u’llah (‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh’; compilation on ‘Reincarnation and the Nature and Progress of the Soul’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

“Women have equal rights with men”

Women have equal rights with men upon earth; in religion and society they are a very important element. As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Paris Talks: Addresses given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Paris in 1911-1912’; 'The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Women')

Concerning eating meat

Regarding the eating of animal flesh and abstinence therefrom, ... he [man] is not in need of meat, nor is he obliged to eat it. Even without eating meat he would live with the utmost vigour and energy.... Truly, the killing of animals and the eating of their meat is somewhat contrary to pity and compassion, and if one can content oneself with cereals, fruit, oil and nuts, such as pistachios, almonds and so on, it would undoubtedly be better and more pleasing. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Conservation of the Earth's Resources)

To help people “clarify their vision with that collyrium which is knowledge’

It is essential that scholars and the spiritually learned should undertake in all sincerity and purity of intent and for the sake of God alone, to counsel and exhort the masses and clarify their vision with that collyrium which is knowledge. For today the people out of the depths of their superstition, imagine that any individual who believes in God and His signs, and in the Prophets and Divine Revelations and laws, and is a devout and God-fearing person, must of necessity remain idle and spend his days in sloth, so as to be considered in the sight of God as one who has forsaken the world and its vanities, set his heart on the life to come, and isolated himself from human beings in order to draw nearer to God. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’)

The meaning of “justice and impartiality”

The second attribute of perfection is justice and impartiality. This means to have no regard for one’s own personal benefits and selfish advantages, and to carry out the laws of God without the slightest concern for anything else. It means to see one’s self as only one of the servants of God, the All-Possessing, and except for aspiring to spiritual distinction, never attempting to be singled out from the others. It means to consider the welfare of the community as one’s own. It means, in brief, to regard humanity as a single individual, and one’s own self as a member of that corporeal form, and to know of a certainty that if pain or injury afflicts any member of that body, it must inevitably result in suffering for all the rest. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’)

“man should know his own self…”

The first Taraz and the first effulgence which hath dawned from the horizon of the Mother Book is that man should know his own self and recognize that which leadeth unto loftiness or lowliness, glory or abasement, wealth or poverty . . .  

- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’; Compilation on ‘Psychology and Knowledge of Self’, prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

“The Sun of Truth is the Word of God”: - “Its appearance in every mirror is conditioned by the colour of that mirror.”

The Sun of Truth is the Word of God upon which dependeth the education of those who are endowed with the power of understanding and of utterance. It is the true spirit and the heavenly water, through whose aid and gracious providence all things have been and will be quickened. Its appearance in every mirror is conditioned by the colour of that mirror. For instance, when its light is cast upon the mirrors of the hearts of the wise, it bringeth forth wisdom. In like manner when it manifesteth itself in the mirrors of the hearts of craftsmen, it unfoldeth new and unique arts, and when reflected in the hearts of those that apprehend the truth it revealeth wondrous tokens of true knowledge and discloseth the verities of God's utterance. 

- Baha’u’llah (From a Tablet; compilation on Professions prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

“The ‘master-key’ to self-mastery is self-forgetting.”

Today the confirmations of the Kingdom of Abha are with those who renounce themselves, forget their own opinions, cast aside personalities and are thinking of the welfare of others. Whosoever has lost himself has found the universe and the inhabitants thereof. Whosoever is occupied with himself is wandering in the desert of heedlessness and regret. The "master-key" to self-mastery is self-forgetting. The road to the palace of life is through the path of renunciation.  

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Star of the West, vol. 17, no. 2; compilation ‘Psychology and Knowledge of Self,’ prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

“the right of voting - a sacred responsibility”: - “does not carry with it nor does it imply an obligation to cast his vote, if he feels… [not able to] exercise that right intelligently and with understanding”

I feel I must reaffirm the vital importance and necessity of the right of voting -- a sacred responsibility of which no adult recognized believer should be deprived, unless he is associated with a community that has not as yet been in a position to establish a local Assembly. This distinguishing right which the believer possesses, however, does not carry with it nor does it imply an obligation to cast his vote, if he feels that the circumstances under which he lives do not justify or allow him to exercise that right intelligently and with understanding. This is a matter which should be left to the individual to decide himself according to his own conscience and discretion. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated April 28, 1935, ‘Messages to America’)

“Verily the Son is in the Father, and the Father is in the Son.” [John 14:10]

Dost thou not see that should a stainless mirror proclaim, ‘Verily is the sun ashine within me, together with all its qualities, tokens and signs’, such an utterance by such a mirror would be neither deceptive nor false? No, by the One Who created It, shaped It, fashioned It, and made It to be an entity conformable to the attributes of the glory within It! Praised be He Who created It! Praised be He Who fashioned It! Praised be He Who made It manifest!

Such were the words uttered by Christ. On account of these words they cavilled at and assailed Him when He said unto them, ‘Verily the Son is in the Father, and the Father is in the Son.’ [John 14:10] Be thou informed of this, and learn thou the secrets of thy Lord. As for the deniers, they are veiled from God: they see not, they hear not, neither do they understand. ‘Leave them to entertain themselves with their cavillings.’ [Qur’án 6:91] Abandon them to their wanderings along river beds where no stream flows. Like grazing beasts they cannot tell paste from pearl. Are they not shut away from the mysteries of thy Lord, the Clement, the Merciful? 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’)

“Whatever occurs is the cause of the elevation of the Word of God and the victory of the divine Cause”

Whatever occurs is the cause of the elevation of the Word of God and the victory of the divine Cause, even though outwardly it may appear to be a great affliction and hardship. What hardship, grief or affliction could be greater than that which occurred at the time when the Blessed Beauty was exiled from Tihrán? Hearts of stone were melted. All the relatives were weeping and lamenting. All were in utter despair. But that exile became the cause of the raising of the Call and exalting the Word of God, of fulfilling the prophecies of the Prophets and of guiding the people of the world. Had it not been for this exile, these things would not have appeared and these great events would not have occurred.

Consider the case of Abraham. Had He not been exiled, He would not have received that greatest blessing; neither a Jacob nor an Isaac would have risen; the fame of the beauty of Joseph would not have been spread throughout the world. He would not have become the ruler of Egypt; no Moses would have appeared; no Muhammad, the divine Messenger, would have come. All these are a result of the blessings of that exile. It is the same now. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a conversation, August 5, 1912, Dublin, USA; recorded by Mahmud Zarqani, His secretary and chronicler during His travels in the West; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’, vol.1)

“obligatory prayer and fasting”: - “means [to] draw nigh unto God”

We, verily, have set forth all things in Our Book, as a token of grace unto those who have believed in God, the Almighty, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. And We have ordained obligatory prayer and fasting so that all may by these means draw nigh unto God, the Most Powerful, the Well-Beloved. We have written down these two laws and expounded every irrevocable decree. We have forbidden men from following whatsoever might cause them to stray from the Truth, and have commanded them to observe that which will draw them nearer unto Him Who is the Almighty, the All-Loving. Say: Observe ye the commandments of God for love of His beauty, and be not of those who follow in the ways of the abject and foolish. 

- Baha’u’llah (From a Tablet; ‘The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting’, A compilation by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

Nature “is the Will of God as manifested in the world of being”; we “can perceive naught therein save the effulgent splendour” of God’s “Name, the Creator”

Say: Nature in its essence is the embodiment of My Name, the Maker, the Creator. Its manifestations are diversified by varying causes, and in this diversity there are signs for men of discernment. Nature is God's Will and is its expression in and through the contingent world. It is a dispensation of Providence ordained by the Ordainer, the All-Wise. Were anyone to affirm that it is the Will of God as manifested in the world of being, no one should question this assertion. It is endowed with a power whose reality men of learning fail to grasp. Indeed a man of insight can perceive naught therein save the effulgent splendour of Our Name, the Creator. Say: This is an existence which knoweth no decay, and Nature itself is lost in bewilderment before its revelations, its compelling evidences and its effulgent glory which have encompassed the universe. 

- Baha’u’llah (‘Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitab-i-Aqdas’; ‘Nature’, Compiled by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice)

“that promised World Order, the shell ordained to enshrine that priceless jewel, the world civilization, of which the Faith itself is the sole begetter”

The community of the organized promoters of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in the American continent -- the spiritual descendants of the dawn-breakers of an heroic Age, who by their death proclaimed the birth of that Faith -- must, in turn, usher in, not by their death but through living sacrifice, that promised World Order, the shell ordained to enshrine that priceless jewel, the world civilization, of which the Faith itself is the sole begetter. While its sister communities are bending beneath the tempestuous winds that beat upon them from every side, this community, preserved by the immutable decrees of the omnipotent Ordainer and deriving continual sustenance from the mandate with which the Tablets of the Divine Plan have invested it, is now busily engaged in laying the foundations and in fostering the growth of those institutions which are to herald the approach of the Age destined to witness the birth and rise of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. 

- Shoghi Effendi (‘The Advent of Divine Justice’)

The reason for the “severe laws and injunctions revealed by the Báb”

The severe laws and injunctions revealed by the Báb can be properly appreciated and understood only when interpreted in the light of His own statements regarding the nature, purpose and character of His own Dispensation. As these statements clearly reveal, the Bábí Dispensation was essentially in the nature of a religious and indeed social revolution, and its duration had therefore to be short, but full of tragic events, of sweeping and drastic reforms. These drastic measures enforced by the Báb and His followers were taken with the view of undermining the very foundations of Shí'ah orthodoxy, and thus paving the way for the coming of Bahá'u'lláh. To assert the independence of the new Dispensation, and to prepare also the ground for the approaching Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb had therefore to reveal very severe laws, even though most of them were never enforced. But the mere fact that He revealed them was in itself a proof of the independent character of His Dispensation and was sufficient to create such widespread agitation, and excite such opposition on the part of the clergy that led them to cause His eventual martyrdom. 

- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated February 17, 1939, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, ‘Messages to the Indian Subcontinent’)

“inability to sense a thing is not a proof of the nonexistence of that thing”

After delivering the message of God and explaining the divine teachings, the Master spoke humorously about the philosophers:

“They say that had there been a spiritual world they would have sensed it. But, as a matter of fact, inability to sense a thing is not a proof of the nonexistence of that thing. If inability to sense constitutes proof of perfection, the cow must be the greatest philosopher, for she does not realize anything beyond the animal world.” 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a conversation, August 5, 1912, Dublin, USA; recorded by Mahmud Zarqani, His secretary and chronicler during His travels in the West; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’, vol.1)