But hear, O My brother, My plaint against them that claim to be associated with God and with the Manifestations of His knowledge, and yet follow their corrupt inclinations, consume...
severity of the injury; for each degree the Lord of Judgement hath prescribed a certain indemnity. 56 While Baha'u'llah specified that the extent of the penalty depends upon the se...
O MY SERVANT! The basest of men are they that yield no fruit on earth. Such men are verily counted as among the dead, nay better are the dead in the sight of God than those idle an...
These people, however, have turned aside from all this and placed instead their affections upon that which accordeth with their own corrupt inclinations. Thus do they roam in the w...
This injunction has become the basis for the holding of monthly Baha'i festivities and as such constitutes the ordination of the Nineteen Day Feast. In the Arabic Bayan the Bab cal...
O MY SERVANT! The best of men are they that earn a livelihood by their calling and spend upon themselves and upon their kindred for the love of God, the Lord of all worlds. The mys...
Quaff then, O My brother, from the living waters that We have caused to flow in the oceans of these words. Methinks the seas of grandeur are surging within them, and the gems of di...
invoke ye the Name of God when ye send them to pursue their quarry; for then whatever they catch shall be lawful unto you, even should ye find it to have died. 60 By this law, Baha...
Know thou, moreover, that in this most hallowed and resplendent city thou shalt find the wayfarer to be lowly before all men and humble before all things. For naught doth he behold...
While hunting is not forbidden by Baha'u'llah, He warns against excessive hunting. The Universal House of Justice will, in due course, have to consider what constitutes an excess i...
Know, however, that the seeker, at the outset of his journey, witnesseth change and transformation, as hath already been mentioned. This is undoubtedly the truth, as hath been reve...
The injunction to show kindness to Baha'u'llah's kindred does not give them a share in the property of others. This is in contrast to Shi'ih Muslim practice, in which lineal descen...
In this station, all changing and varying realities are manifest before thee. Whosoever denieth this truth hath verily turned aside from the Cause of God, rebelled against His rule...
him also shall ye burn; should anyone deliberately take another's life, him also shall ye put to death. 62 The law of Baha'u'llah prescribes the death penalty for murder and arson,...
O My brother! In this stage, which marketh the beginning of the journey, thou shalt behold divers stations and differing signs, even as was mentioned in connection with the City of...
it would be permissible according to the provisions of the Book. 62 Shoghi Effendi, in response to a question about this verse of the Aqdas, affirmed that while capital punishment...
By My Lord! Notwithstanding all that We have revealed unto thee of the mysteries of utterance and the degrees of exposition, methinks I have spoken not a single letter of the ocean...
Baha'u'llah, in one of His Tablets, states that God, in establishing this law, has made marriage a fortress for well-being and salvation. The Synopsis and Codification, section IV....
Know thou, moreover, that the bird that taketh flight in the atmosphere of the realm on high will never be able to soar unto the heaven of transcendent holiness, nor taste of the f...
Whoso contenteth himself with a single partner from among the maidservants of God, both he and she shall live in tranquillity. 63 While the text of the Kitab-i-Aqdas appears to per...
O SON OF GLORY! Be swift in the path of holiness, and enter the heaven of communion with Me. Cleanse thy heart with the burnish of the spirit, and hasten to the court of the Most H...
O SON OF SPIRIT! There is no peace for thee save by renouncing thyself and turning unto Me; for it behooveth thee to glory in My name, not in thine own; to put thy trust in Me and...
In the second Gospel, according to Mark, the Dove of holiness speaketh in such terms: "For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation whi...
The original Obligatory Prayer had for reasons of wisdom been revealed by Baha'u'llah in a separate Tablet (Q and A 63). It was not released to the believers in His lifetime, havin...
Comprehend, in like manner, every station, sign, and allusion, that thou mayest perceive all things in their own place and consider all matters in their proper light. For in this s...
Baha'u'llah states that a man may employ a maiden for domestic service. This was not permissible under Shi'ih Muslim practice unless the employer entered into a marriage contract w...
Know then that all thou hast heard and witnessed that Daystar of Truth, the Primal Point, ascribe to Himself from the designations of former times is only on account of the weaknes...
While marriage is enjoined in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Baha'u'llah clarifies that it is not obligatory (Q and A 46). Shoghi Effendi, in a letter written on his behalf, also declared that...
Know, moreover, that all that We have mentioned concerning these journeys is intended for none but the elect amongst the righteous. And shouldst thou spur on the charger of the spi...
In a letter written on his behalf, Shoghi Effendi has commented on this provision of the law: Baha'u'llah has clearly stated the consent of all living parents is required for a Bah...