Sunday, June 30, 2013

A Warning Unto All Nations

Islám, at once the progenitor and persecutor of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, is, if we read aright the signs of the times, only beginning to sustain the impact of this invincible and triumphant Faith. We need only recall the nineteen hundred years of abject misery and dispersion which they, who only for the short space of three years persecuted the Son of God, have had to endure, and are still enduring. We may well ask ourselves, with mingled feelings of dread and awe, how severe must be the tribulations of those who, during no less than fifty years, have, “at every moment tormented with a fresh torment” Him Who is the Father, and who have, in addition, made His Herald—Himself a Manifestation of God—to quaff, in such tragic circumstances, the cup of martyrdom.
 I have, in the pages immediately preceding, quoted certain passages addressed collectively to the members of the ecclesiastical order, both Islamic and Christian, and have then recorded a number of specific addresses and references to Muslim divines, both Shí’ih and Sunní, after which I proceeded to describe the calamities that afflicted these Muḥammadan hierarchies, their heads, their members, their properties, their ceremonials, and institutions.

Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day Is Come

Saturday, June 29, 2013

The attacks and the obstructiveness of the ignorant ...

Indeed, the attacks and the obstructiveness of the ignorant but cause the Word of God to be exalted, and spread His signs and tokens far and wide. Were it not for this opposition by the disdainful, this obduracy of the slanderers, this shouting from the pulpits, this crying and wailing of great and small alike, these accusations of unbelief levelled by the ignorant, this uproar from the foolish — how could news of the advent of the Primal Point and the bright dawning of the Day-star of Baha ever have reached to east and west?

 …All these blessings and bestowals, the very means of proclaiming the Faith, have come about through the scorn of the ignorant, the opposition of the foolish, the stubbornness of the dull-witted, the violence of the aggressor. Had it not been for these things, the news of the Báb’s advent would not, to this day, have reached even into lands hard by. Wherefore we should never grieve over the blindness of the unwitting, the attacks of the foolish, the hostility of the low and base, the heedlessness of the divines, the charges of infidelity brought against us by the empty of mind.



‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, sec. 195, pp. 234-36

As opposition to the Faith,...

As opposition to the Faith, from whatever source it may spring, whatever form it may assume, however violent its outbursts, is admittedly the motive-power that galvanizes on the one hand, the souls of its valiant defenders, and taps for them, on the other, fresh springs of that Divine and inexhaustible Energy, we who are called upon to represent, defend and promote its interests, should, far from regarding any manifestation of hostility as an evidence of the weakening of the pillars of the Faith, acclaim it as both a God-sent gift and a God-sent opportunity which, if we remain undaunted, we can utilize for the furtherance of His Faith and the routing and complete elimination of its adversaries.
 …Fierce and relentless will be the opposition which this crystallization and emergence must provoke. The alarm it must and will awaken, the envy it will certainly arouse, the misrepresentations to which it will remorselessly be subjected, the setbacks it must, sooner or later, sustain, the commotions to which it must eventually give rise, the fruits it must in the end garner, the blessings it must inevitably bestow and the glorious, the Golden Age, it must irresistibly usher in, are just beginning to be faintly perceived, and will, as the old order crumbles beneath the weight of so stupendous a Revelation, become increasingly apparent and arresting.

 Shoghi Effendi, Messages to America, p. 51-2

Thursday, June 27, 2013

خبر تخریب بیت اعظم، بیت مبارک حضرت بهاءالله در بغداد

ترجمه‌ای از پیام بیت ‌العدل اعظم الهی خطاب به محافل روحانی ملّی 
(از: مرکز جهانی بهائی)
ارسال از طریق الکترونیکی
خطاب به: تمام محافل روحانی ملّی
تاریخ: ۲۷ ژوئن ۲۰۱۳
با قلوبی پرسوز و گداز خبر تخریب بیت اعظم، بیت مبارک حضرت بهاءالله در بغداد را به اطّلاع شما می‌رسانیم. جزئیّات این عمل شنیع هنوز روشن نیست ولی پیامد آنی و وخیم آن آشکار است: مردم جهان از موهبت وجود حریمی مبارک با تقدّسی لاتحصی محروم گشته‌اند.
عملی چنین اسفناک در آستانۀ کنفرانس‌های بی‌سابقۀ پیروان جوان حضرت بهاءالله و دوستان آنان در سراسر عالم، ارتباط غیبی بین بحران و پیروزی را به یاد می‌آورد که از طریق آن، ارادۀ محیطۀ غالبۀ محتومۀ حضرتش نهایتاً تحقّق خواهد یافت.
از آستان جمال اقدس ابهی رجا می‌نماییم که به بندگان باوفایش استقامت و قدرت تحمّل این ضربۀ شدیده را عطا فرماید. اطّلاعات بیشتر به محض وصول ابلاغ خواهد شد.
بیت العدل اعظم

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Difficult and delicate though be our task,

Shoghí Effendí
Difficult and delicate though be our task, the sustaining power of Bahá’u’lláh and of His Divine guidance will assuredly assist us if we follow steadfastly in His way, and strive to uphold the integrity of His laws. The light of His redeeming grace, which no earthly power can obscure, will if we persevere, illuminate our path, as we steer our course amid the snares and pitfalls of a troubled age, and will enable us to discharge our duties in a manner that would redound to the glory and the honor of His blessed Name.

Shoghi Effendi, ‘The World Order of Baha’u’llah’

Sunday, June 23, 2013

The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh

As the number of the Bahá’í communities in various parts of the world multiplies and their power, as a social force, becomes increasingly apparent, they will no doubt find themselves increasingly subjected to the pressure which men of authority and influence, in the political domain, will exercise in the hope of obtaining the support they require for the advancement of their aims. These communities will, moreover, feel a growing need of the good-will and the assistance of their respective governments in their efforts to widen the scope, and to consolidate the foundations, of the institutions committed to their charge. Let them beware lest, in their eagerness to further the aims of their beloved Cause, they should be led unwittingly to bargain with their Faith, to compromise with their essential principles, or to sacrifice, in return for any material advantage which their institutions may derive, the integrity of their spiritual ideals. Let them proclaim that in whatever country they reside, and however advanced their institutions, or profound their desire to enforce the laws, and apply the principles, enunciated by Bahá’u’lláh, they will, unhesitatingly, subordinate the operation of such laws and the application of such principles to the requirements and legal enactments of their respective governments. Theirs is not the purpose, while endeavoring to conduct and perfect the administrative affairs of their Faith, to violate, under any circumstances, the provisions of their country’s constitution, much less to allow the machinery of their administration to supersede the government of their respective countries.

Shoghi Effendi: The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh P65-66

Tablet of the Seven Questions (Lawḥ-i-Haft Pursish)

The second question concerneth faith and religion.
 The Faith of God hath in this day been made manifest. He Who is the Lord of the world is come and hath shown the way. His faith is the faith of benevolence and His religion is the religion of forbearance. This faith bestoweth eternal life and this religion enableth mankind to dispense with all else. It verily embraceth all faiths and all religions. Take hold thereof and guard it well.

Tablet of the Seven Questions (Lawḥ-i-Haft Pursish)

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet of the Seven Questions (Lawḥ-i-Haft Pursish)

The first question: “In what tongue and towards what direction doth it behove us to worship the one true God?”
 The beginning of all utterance is the worship of God, and this followeth upon His recognition. Sanctified must be the eye if it is to truly recognize Him, and sanctified must be the tongue if it is to befittingly utter His praise. In this day the faces of the people of insight and understanding are turned in His direction; nay every direction inclineth itself towards Him. O lion-hearted one! We beseech God that thou mayest become a champion in this arena, arise with heavenly power and say: “O high priests! Ears have been given you that they may hearken unto the mystery of Him Who is the Self-Dependent, and eyes that they may behold Him. Wherefore flee ye? The Incomparable Friend is manifest. He speaketh that wherein lieth salvation. Were ye, O high priests, to discover the perfume of the rose garden of understanding, ye would seek none other but Him, and would recognize, in His new vesture, the All-Wise and Peerless One, and would turn your eyes from the world and all who seek it, and would arise to help Him.”

Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet of the Seven Questions (Lawḥ-i-Haft Pursish)

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Religious principles have ...

Religious principles have various degrees and stations. The root of all principles and the cornerstone of all foundations hath ever been, and shall remain, the recognition of God. And these days are indeed the vernal season of the recognition of the All-Merciful. Whatsoever proceedeth in this day from the Repository of His Cause and the Manifestation of His Self is, in truth, the fundamental principle unto which all must bear allegiance.

Bahá'u'lláh, The Tabernacle of Unity. p 25

Monday, June 17, 2013

پیام مرکز جهانی بهائی مورخ 20 اردیبهشت 1392

۱۳ شهرالجمال ۱۷۰
٢۰ اردیبهشت ۱۳۹٢
پیروان امر حضرت یزدان در کشور مقدّس ایران ملاحظه فرمایند

بغض و تعصّب دیدۀ باطن را کور می‌کند، کاردانی و قضاوت صحیح را از انسان سلب می‌نماید و البتّه بی‌تدبیری نیز به دنبال
می‌آورد. هدف پوچ مسئولین امور از تشدید تضییقات صرفاً تضعیف روحیّۀ بهائیان و اطفای نار موقدۀ الهیّه است. ولی از این نکته غافل‌اند که طوفان عناد هر چقدر ازدیاد یابد هرگز سراج برافروختۀ ید قدرت الهی را خاموش ننماید بلکه بالعکس شدّت معاندت موجب اشتعال نار محبّت ‌الله در قلوب مستعدّه ‌گردد. این بیداد‌گرانِ ناآگاه، وقتی که از تعدّیات همه‌جانبۀ خود نتیجۀ دل‌خواه نمی‌گیرند به دنبال طرق دیگری برای اِعمال فشار و سرکوبی می‌گردند. با دشمنان دیرینۀ امر الله هم‌دست می‌شوند تا به زعم باطل خود با کاشتن بذر شک و شبهه در قلوب احبّا، در جامعه ایجاد اختلاف و نفاق نمایند. زمانی که گفتمان‌های شما را در زمینۀ جامعه‌سازی برای دوستان، آشنایان و همسایگان‌تان مؤثّر و جذّاب می‌یابند به تحریف حقایق و کژنمایی واقعیّات می‌پردازند و به تلاشی مذبوحانه برای انتشار شایعات دروغ و مباحث سفسطه‌آمیز دست می‌زنند تا چون ایّام گذشته‌ با پیش‌
....کشیدن مسائل خشک مذهبی، گفتگوهای مفید و صمیمانه را با مجادلۀ لفظی جای‌گزین ‌کنند.


Saturday, June 15, 2013

... by “the world” is meant ...

Know ye that by “the world” is meant your unawareness of Him Who is your Maker, and your absorption in aught else but Him. The “life to come,” on the other hand, signifieth the things that give you a safe approach to God, the All-Glorious, the Incomparable. Whatsoever deterreth you, in this Day, from loving God is nothing but the world. Flee it, that ye may be numbered with the blest. Should a man wish to adorn himself with the ornaments of the earth, to wear its apparels, or partake of the benefits it can bestow, no harm can befall him, if he alloweth nothing whatever to intervene between him and God, for God hath ordained every good thing, whether created in the heavens or in the earth, for such of His servants as truly believe in Him. Eat ye, O people, of the good things which God hath allowed you, and deprive not yourselves from His wondrous bounties. Render thanks and praise unto Him, and be of them that are truly thankful.

Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

O ye servants of the Sacred Threshold!

O ye servants of the Sacred Threshold! The triumphant hosts of the Celestial Concourse, arrayed and marshalled in the Realms above, stand ready and expectant to assist and assure victory to that valiant horseman who with confidence spurs on his charger into the arena of service. Well is it with that fearless warrior, who armed with the power of true Knowledge, hastens unto the field, disperses the armies of ignorance, and scatters the hosts of error, who holds aloft the Standard of Divine Guidance, and sounds the Clarion of Victory. By the righteousness of the Lord! He hath achieved a glorious triumph and obtained the true victory.

Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Thursday, June 13, 2013

My God, my God!

My God, my God! If none be found to stray from Thy path, how, then, can the ensign of Thy mercy be unfurled, or the banner of Thy bountiful favor be hoisted? And if iniquity be not committed, what is it that can proclaim Thee to be the Concealer of men's sins, the Ever-Forgiving, the Omniscient, the All-Wise? May my soul be a sacrifice to the trespasses of them that trespass against Thee, for upon such trespasses are wafted the sweet savors of the tender mercies of Thy Name, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful…. May my inmost being be offered up for the sins of them that have sinned against Thee, for it is as a result of such sins that the Day Star of Thy manifold favors revealeth itself above the horizon of Thy bounty, and the clouds of Thy never-failing providence rain down their gifts upon the realities of all created things.

Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, pp. 310-311

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Who are we that we should judge?


All religions teach that we should love one another; that we should seek out our own shortcomings before we presume to condemn the faults of others, that we must not consider ourselves superior to our neighbours!
We must be careful not to exalt ourselves lest we be humiliated.
Who are we that we should judge? How shall we know who, in the sight of God, is the most upright man? God’s thoughts are not like our thoughts! How many men who have seemed saint-like to their friends have fallen into the greatest humiliation. Think of Judas Iscariot; he began well, but remember his end! On the other hand, Paul, the Apostle, was in his early life an enemy of Christ, whilst later he became His most faithful servant. How then can we flatter ourselves and despise others? Let us therefore be humble, without prejudices, preferring others’ good to our own!
 Let us never say, ‘I am a believer but he is an infidel’, ‘I am near to God, whilst he is an outcast’. We can never know what will be the final judgment! Therefore let us help all who are in need of any kind of assistance.
Let us teach the ignorant, and take care of the young child until he grows to maturity. When we find a person fallen into the depths of misery or sin we must be kind to him, take him by the hand, help him to regain his footing, his strength; we must guide him with love and tenderness, treat him as a friend not as an enemy.

`Abdu'l-BaháParis Talks P.147-8

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

در هيچ مذهب و ملّتی اطفال مقصّر نبوده اند؛ «برج بلند استقامت»

حضرت بهاءالله حدود یک قرن و نیم پیش، در اثری عظیم و مُهیمِن، معروف به «لوح رئیس» خطاب به عالی پاشا، صدر اعظم عثمانی، که حضرتشان را با جمعی اطفال و خانواده و اصحابشان به زندان عکا تبعید کرد، چنین می فرمایند:
 «به زَعم تو اين مُحيیِ عالم و مُصلح آن، مُفسد و مُقصّر بوده، جمعی از نِسوان و اطفال صغير و مُرضِعات[زنان شیرده] چه تقصير نموده اند که مَحلِّ سِياطِ قهر و غضب شده اند؟ در هيچ مذهب و ملّتی اطفال مقصّر نبوده اند. قلمِ حُکمِ الهی از ايشان مرتفع شده، ولکن شرارۀ ظلم و اعتساف تو جميع را احاطه نموده. اگر از اهل مذهب و ملّتی، در جميع کتب الهيّه و زبر قيّمه و صُحُفِ مُتقنه بر اطفال تکليفی نبوده و نيست. و از اين مقام گذشته، نفوسی هم که به حق قائل نيستند ارتکاب چنين امور ننموده اند، چه که در هر شیء اثری مشهود و احدی انکارِ آثارِ اشياء ننموده مگر جاهلی که بالمرّه از عقل و درايت محروم باشد. لذا البتّه ناله اين اطفال و حنين اين مظلومان را اثری خواهد بود.»

http://www.noghtenazar15.info/node/1115

Thou beholdest this lifeless one before Thy face;...

O Lord! Thou beholdest this lifeless one before Thy face; suffer him, through Thy generosity and bountiful favour, not to be deprived of the chalice of immortal life. And Thou seest this afflicted one standing before Thy throne; turn him not away from the ocean of Thy healing. I entreat Thee to enable me at all times and under all conditions to remember Thee, to magnify Thy Name and to serve Thy Cause, though I am well aware that whatever proceedeth from a servant cannot transcend the limitations of his soul, nor beseem Thy Lordship, nor be worthy of the court of Thy glory and Thy majesty.
Thy might beareth me witness! Were it not to celebrate Thy praise, my tongue would be of no use to me, and were it not for the sake of rendering service to Thee, my existence would avail me not. But for the pleasure of beholding the splendours of Thy realm of glory, why should I cherish sight? And but for the joy of giving ear to Thy most sweet voice, of what use is hearing?

Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh p.113

Monday, June 10, 2013

Deliver me, have mercy upon me,

Deliver me, have mercy upon me, O Thou Whose aid is invoked by all men, O Thou within Whose grasp lie the reins of power over all men and women. Whenever I ponder my grievous shortcomings and my great trespasses, despair assaileth me from every direction, and whenever I pause to meditate upon the ocean of Thy bounteousness and the heaven of Thy grace and the day-star of Thy tender compassion, I inhale the fragrance of hope diffused from right and left, from north and south, as if every created thing imparteth unto me the joyous tidings that the clouds of the heaven of Thy mercy will pour down their rain upon me.
By Thy might, O Thou Who art the Mainstay of the sincere ones and the Desire of them that enjoy near access unto Thee! Thy manifold favours and blessings and the revelations of Thy grace and loving-kindness have truly emboldened me. How, otherwise, can utter nothingness magnify the Name of Him Who hath, by a word, brought creation into being, and how can an evanescent creature extol Him Who hath demonstrated that no description can ever express Him and no word of praise magnify His glory? He hath from everlasting been immeasurably exalted above the understanding of His creatures and sanctified from the conceptions of His servants. O Lord!

Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, p113

Sunday, June 9, 2013

... speech and utterance ...

Blessed is the spot wherein the anthem of His praise is raised, and blessed the ear that hearkeneth unto that which hath been sent down from the heaven of the loving-kindness of thy Lord, the All-Merciful.
Exhort thou the servants of God unto that whereunto We have exhorted thee that they may abstain from whatsoever is forbidden them in the Mother Book. Those who perpetrate deeds that would create turmoil among the people have indeed strayed far from helping God and His Cause and are numbered with the mischief-makers in the Tablet which God hath designated to be the dawning-place of all Tablets.
Say: If it be Our pleasure We shall render the Cause victorious through the power of a single word from Our presence. He is in truth the Omnipotent, the All-Compelling. Should it be God’s intention, there would appear out of the forests of celestial might the lion of indomitable strength whose roaring is like unto the peals of thunder reverberating in the mountains. However, since Our loving providence surpasseth all things, We have ordained that complete victory should be achieved through speech and utterance, that Our servants throughout the earth may thereby become the recipients of divine good. This is but a token of God’s bounty vouchsafed unto them. Verily thy Lord is the All-Sufficing, the Most Exalted.


Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh
(Tablet to Siyyid Mihdíy-i-Dahájí)

Friday, June 7, 2013

THE POWER AND VALUE OF TRUE THOUGHT DEPEND UPON ITS MANIFESTATION IN ACTION

Thoughts may be divided into two classes:
(1st) Thought that belongs to the world of thought alone.
(2nd) Thought that expresses itself in action.
Some men and women glory in their exalted thoughts, but if these thoughts never reach the plane of action they remain useless: the power of thought is dependent on its manifestation in deeds. A philosopher’s thought may, however, in the world of progress and evolution, translate itself into the actions of other people, even when they themselves are unable or unwilling to show forth their grand ideals in their own lives. To this class the majority of philosophers belong, their teachings being high above their actions. This is the difference between philosophers who are Spiritual Teachers, and those who are mere philosophers: the Spiritual Teacher is the first to follow His own teaching; He brings down into the world of action His spiritual conceptions and ideals. His Divine thoughts are made manifest to the world. His thought is Himself, from which He is inseparable. When we find a philosopher emphasizing the importance and grandeur of justice, and then encouraging a rapacious monarch in his oppression and tyranny, we quickly realize that he belongs to the first class: for he thinks heavenly thoughts and does not practise the corresponding heavenly virtues.
This state is impossible with Spiritual Philosophers, for they ever express their high and noble thoughts in actions.

`Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks

Thursday, June 6, 2013

... suffering...

‘The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering. The more the ground is ploughed the better the seed will grow, the better the harvest will be. Just as the plough furrows the earth deeply, purifying it of weeds and thistles, so suffering and tribulation free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment. His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Man is, so to speak, unripe: the heat of the fire of suffering will mature him. Look back to the times past and you will find that the greatest men have suffered most.’

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Paris Talks

Pilgrimage: A Sacred Experience


Published on Dec 22, 2012.
 This 1/2 hour film produced at the Baha'i World Centre is an inspirational glimpse into Pilgrimage to the World Centre of the Baha'i Faith in Northern Israel. Includes video of the Baha'i Holy Places and interviews with pilgrims. A great film to prepare for your own pilgrimage or relive the time when you experienced this in person.

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Universal peace cannot be accomplished until ?

Question: Is it not a fact that universal peace cannot be accomplished until there is political democracy in all the countries of the world?
Answer: It is very evident that in the future there shall be no centralization in the countries of the world, be they constitutional in government, republican or democratic in form. The United States may be held up as the example of future government—that is to say, each province will be independent in itself, but there will be federal union protecting the interests of the various independent states. It may not be a republican or a democratic form. To cast aside centralization which promotes despotism is the exigency of the time. This will be productive of international peace. Another fact of equal importance in bringing about international peace is woman’s suffrage. That is to say, when perfect equality shall be established between men and women, peace may be realized for the simple reason that womankind in general will never favor warfare. Women will not be willing to allow those whom they have so tenderly cared for to go to the battlefield. When they shall have a vote, they will oppose any cause of warfare. Another factor which will bring about universal peace is the linking together of the Orient and the Occident.

`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace

Sunday, June 2, 2013

No Industrial Slavery

‘Abdu’l-Bahá said at Dublin, New Hampshire, in 1912:
Now I want to tell you about the law of God. According to the divine law, employees should not be paid merely by wages. Nay, rather they should be partners in every work. The question of socialization is very difficult. It will not be solved by strikes for wages. All the governments of the world must be united, and organize an assembly, the members of which shall be elected from the parliaments and the noble ones of the nations. These must plan with wisdom and power, so that neither the capitalists suffer enormous losses, nor the laborers become needy. In the utmost moderation they should make the law, then announce to the public that the rights of the working people are to be effectively preserved; also the rights of the capitalists are to be protected. When such a general law is adopted, by the will of both sides, should a strike occur, all the governments of the world should collectively resist it. Otherwise the work will lead to much destruction, especially in Europe. Terrible things will take place. One of the several causes of a universal European war will be this question.
 The owners of properties, mines and factories, should share their incomes with their employees, and give a fairly certain percentage of their profits to their workingmen, in order that the employees should receive, besides their wages, some of the general income of the factory, so that the employee may strive with his soul in the work.

Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era

Saturday, June 1, 2013

The Promulgation of Universal Peace

God has created us all human, and all countries of the world are parts of the same globe. We are all His servants. He is kind and just to all. Why should we be unkind and unjust to each other? He provides for all. Why should we deprive one another? He protects and preserves all. Why should we kill our fellow creatures? If this warfare and strife be for the sake of religion, it is evident that it violates the spirit and basis of all religion. All the divine Manifestations have proclaimed the oneness of God and the unity of mankind. They have taught that men should love and mutually help each other in order that they might progress. Now if this conception of religion be true, its essential principle is the oneness of humanity. The fundamental truth of the Manifestations is peace. This underlies all religion, all justice. The divine purpose is that men should live in unity, concord and agreement and should love one another. Consider the virtues of the human world and realize that the oneness of humanity is the primary foundation of them all. Read the Gospel and the other Holy Books. You will find their fundamentals are one and the same. Therefore, unity is the essential truth of religion and, when so understood, embraces all the virtues of the human world.

`Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace

بی عدالتی در جهان و راه اصلاح آن از منظر آئین مقدّس بهائی


بی عدالتی در جهان و راه اصلاح آن از منظر آئین مقدّس بهائی
حضرت عبدالبهاء می فرمایند:
«...اگرنَفسی انسانی را بکُشد، او را قاتل گویند. امّا اگر خون صد هزار نَفس را بریزد، او را سَروَر دلیران گویند. اگر نَفسی دَه دِرَم از کسی بدزدد، او را سارق گویند. امّا اگر یک مملکت را غارت کند، او را فاتح نامند.اگر یک خانه را آتش زند، او را مُجرِم شمرند. لکن اگر مملکتی را به آتش توپ و تفنگ بسوزاند، جهانگیر گویند. اینها جمیعاً... از عدم ایمان است. زیرا اگر انسان معتقد به عدالت الهی باشد، راضی نمی شود خاطری بیازارد. و به ریختن قطره ای از خون راضی نگردد. بلکه شب و روز می کوشد تا خاطری را مَسرور کند..امید ما(بهائیان) چنانست که وحدت عالَم انسانی انتشار یابد. بُغض و عداوت بین بشر براُفتد. صلح اکبر آشکار گردد. و جمیع ملل با یکدیگر الفت کنند و محفل صلح تشکیل نمایند و...این مشروط وموکول بر این است که صلح پَروَر در دنیا بسیار گردند. مُحِبِ عالم انسانی تزاید یابد. افکار عمومی منعطف به صلح شود. تا از کَثرت مُحبّینِ صلح و صَلاح، ملل و دُوَل مجبور به اتّحاد شوند. محبّت نورانیّت است، بُغض و عداوت ظلمت است.محبّت سبب حیات است، عداوت سبب ممات.البتّه عقلاء حیات را بر ممات ترجیح دهند. اتّحاد را بر اختلاف مُرجّح شمرند. و به جان و دل بکوشند که این ابرهای ظلمانی زائل شود.شمس حقیقت اشراق کند. عالَم عالَم دیگر شود. کُرۀ ارض جنّتی در نهایت طراوت و لطافت گردد. شرق و غرب دست در آغوش یکدیگر کنند.جَنوب و شمال دست به دست یکدیگر دهند تا محبّت حقیقیِ الهی در عالم انسانی جلوه نماید. زیرا محبّت به خَلق خدمت به خدا...»

Having created the world and ...

  Having created the world and all that liveth and moveth therein, He, through the direct operation of His unconstrained and sovereign Will,...