O my Lord, my Defender, my Help in Peril!

 

O my Lord, my Defender, my Help in Peril! Lowly do I entreat Thee, ailing do I come unto Thee to be healed, humbly do I cry out to Thee with my tongue, my soul, my spirit:

 

 O God, my God! The gloom of night hath shrouded every region, and all the earth is shut away behind thick clouds. The peoples of the world are sunk in the black depths of vain illusions, while their tyrants wallow in cruelty and hate. I see nothing but the glare of searing fires that blaze upward from the nethermost abyss, I hear nothing save the thunderous roar that belloweth out from thousands upon thousands of fiery weapons of assault, while every land is crying aloud in its secret tongue: “My riches avail me nothing, and my sovereignty hath perished!” 

 O my Lord, the lamps of guidance have gone out. The flames of passion are mounting high, and malevolence is ever gaining on the world. Malice and hate have overspread the face of the whole earth, and I find no souls except Thine own oppressed small band who are raising up this cry: Make haste to love! 

 Make haste to trust! Make haste to give! To guidance come! Come ye for harmony! To behold the Star of Day! 

 Come here for kindliness, for ease! Come here for amity and peace! 

 Come and cast down your weapons of wrath, till unity is won! 

 Come and in the Lord's true path each one help each one. 

 Verily, with exceeding joy, with heart and soul, do these oppressed of Thine offer themselves up for all mankind in every land. Thou seest them, O my Lord, weeping over the tears Thy people shed, mourning the grief of Thy children, condoling with humankind, suffering because of the calamities that beset all the denizens of the earth. 

 O my Lord, wing them with victory that they may soar upward to salvation, strengthen their loins in service to Thy people, and their backs in servitude to Thy Threshold of Holiness. 

 Verily Thou art the Generous, verily Thou art the Merciful! There is none other God save Thee, the Clement, the Pitiful, the Ancient of Days! ‘

Abdu’l-Bahá

“United in our diversity”: Tunisian faith communities sign coexistence p...

TUNIS, Tunisia — At a recent press conference in Tunis, Tunisia, the faith communities of that country signed a jointly prepared “National Pact for Coexistence,” expressing their commitment to nurturing a more peaceful society.
 “This initiative is a powerful sign of solidarity,” says Mohamad Ben Moussa of the Bahá’í Office of External Affairs. “The pact shows that we are united in our diversity and presents a refreshing view of our society, one that acknowledges a growing consciousness of our essential oneness.”

 The press conference, which was also attended by a representative of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and civil society organizations, received wide media coverage in Tunisia and elsewhere in the Arab region. The event was arranged by the interfaith organization Attalaki, meaning “a gathering.”

Bahá’í World News Service

Ayyam-i-Ha / Intercalary Days

 

Let the days in excess of the months be placed before the month of fasting. We have ordained that these, amid all nights and days, shall be the manifestations of the letter Há, and thus they have not been bounded by the limits of the year and its months. It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name; and when they end—these days of giving that precede the season of restraint—let them enter upon the Fast. Thus hath it been ordained by Him Who is the Lord of all mankind. The traveller, the ailing, those who are with child or giving suck, are not bound by the Fast; they have been exempted by God as a token of His grace. He, verily, is the Almighty, the Most Generous. 
  These are the ordinances of God that have been set down in the Books and Tablets by His Most Exalted Pen. Hold ye fast unto His statutes and commandments, and be not of those who, following their idle fancies and vain imaginings, have clung to the standards fixed by their own selves, and cast behind their backs the standards laid down by God. Abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sundown, and beware lest desire deprive you of this grace that is appointed in the Book.

Bahá'u'lláh: The Kitáb-i-Aqdas P.26

Ayyám-i-Há

 

LET THE DAYS IN EXCESS OF THE MONTHS BE PLACED BEFORE THE MONTH OF FASTING. # 16

 The Badí calendar is based on the solar year of 365 days, 5 hours, and 50 odd minutes. The year consists of 19 months of 19 days each (i.e. 361 days), with the addition of four extra days (five in a leap year). The Báb did not specifically define the place for the intercalary days in the new calendar. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas resolves this question by assigning the “excess” days a fixed position in the calendar immediately preceding the month of ‘Alá, the period of fasting. 

WE HAVE ORDAINED THAT THESE … SHALL BE THE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE LETTER HÁ # 16

 Known as the Ayyám-i-Há (the Days of Há), the Intercalary Days have the distinction of being associated with “the letter Há”. The abjad numerical value of this Arabic letter is five, which corresponds to the potential number of intercalary days. The letter “Há” has been given several spiritual meanings in the Holy Writings, among which is as a symbol of the Essence of God.

The Kitáb-i-Aqdas