He is God!
O God! O God! Thou dost behold me, how my forehead is laid upon the dust of humility and submission and how my face is covered in the ground of the threshold of thy singleness. O thou my Lord, the Unconstrained! Thou seest me lowly and contrite, supplicating, entreating and imploring toward the Kingdom of thy light by day and by night, that thou encircle us with the eye of thy providence and the glances of the outlook of thy mercifulness.
O Lord! Forgive our sins, pardon our shortcomings and deal with us through thy grace and generosity under all circumstances. O our Lord! We are sinners, but thou art the merciful forgiver. We are transgressors, but thou art the clement pardoner. Absolve our iniquities, remove our sorrows, destine for us through thy bestowal severance from the world, occupation with thy mentioning, enkindlement with the fire of thy love, perpetual contemplation of thy signs, the knowledge of thy words, meditation over thy verses and the attraction of thy lights.
O Lord! O Lord! These are thy servants; they have turned their faces toward thy countenance and they have resolved their joy and happiness in thy favor and bounty. Strengthen their backs in thy obedience. Reinforce their lives in thy adoration. Perfume their hearts with the fragrances of thy holiness. Ordain for them presence in the paradise of thy meeting. Suffer them to become such servants as peruse the verses of unity in the assemblages held in thy name; that attract the rays of singleness from the lamp of thy bestowal; as those drawn towards thy beauty, humble before thy glory; who have abandoned aught else save thee and are relying upon thy protection and preservation; as those rendered meek by the sway of thy Word, made submissive before thy beloved ones; as those diffusing thy fragrances, disclosing thy mysteries, informing people with thy teachings and suffering mankind to become rejoiced through thy glad-tidings. Verily, thou art powerful over that which thou wiliest and thou feedest whomsoever thou desirest with thy hand. The world and the Kingdom belong to thee and thou art the mighty, the omnipotent and the beloved!
O ye believers of God! O ye dear friends of ‘Abdu’l-Baha!
The goblet of the Covenant is overflowing and the outpouring of the bestowal of the Luminary of Effulgence is manifest and apparent in the regions from behind the invisible world, like unto the radiant moon. The twilight of the Moon of Guidance is scattered and the grace of the Orb of the Beauty of Abha is continuous and renowned. The fame of the grandeur of the Most Great Name hath reached the East and the West and the call of the Cause of the
Blessed Perfection (Baha’u’llah) hath encircled the North and the South. The fragrances of sanctity are being wafted and the breeze of life is passing by. The Word of God is upheld and the everlasting glory is revealed. The lamp of divine unity is ignited and the flame of clemency is glowing. From every direction the call of "Ya-Baha’u’l-Abha!" is raised and in the Orient and in the Occident the teachings of God have struck wonder to the heart of every thinker. Pamphlets and periodicals are being published and circulated in America, Europe and Africa. A section of the press is engaged in praise and eulogy, and another section of the press is awakening the interest of the nations by exclaiming: "This Movement is stupendous and of paramount importance."
Some people express wonder and astonishment; others complain bitterly on account of their intense prejudices. One of the nations says: "After the departure of his holiness Christ only a limited number of people were his disciples; notwithstanding this his fame became world-conquering and his song reached the sphere of ether." But, the Blessed Perfection—May my life be a ransom to His believers!—on the eve of His ascension, hundreds and thousands were associating together under the shade of the flag of His majesty. From this illustration you can draw the conclusion that a mighty resurrection will be witnessed in the not-far distant future. One of the greatest apostles of His Holiness the Spirit was the great Peter; but, notwithstanding this, before Christ's crucifixion he became agitated and was harassed with fear; while thousands of souls, singing, dancing and clapping their hands, have given up their lives and hastened toward the city of martyrdom, for the sake and in the path of the Most Great Name—May my identity be a sacrifice to His friends!
In short, the affairs of the Cause revolve around just such a center of self-abnegation. How self-evident it is that the believers of God must clothe themselves in these days with the attributes of self-sacrifice, consecrate their time to the teaching of the heedless ones, diffuse the sweet aroma of the teachings, re-enkindle the white flame and make apparent the splendor of the Merciful.
O ye friends of God! Is it befitting that we rest for one moment after the departure of the Beauty of the Clement, or seek the organization of committees, or exhale one breath of comfort, or taste the honey of fleeting pleasure, or lay our heads on the cushions of repose, or pursue the luxury and affluence of the world of creation? No! I declare by God! This is not the condition of loyalty nor the state of faithfulness and appreciation.
Therefore. O ye friends! With heart and soul yearn for the service of the divine threshold and like unto the righteous ones become ye the guardians of the court of the merciful. Servitude at the holy threshold means the spread of the fragrances, the explanation of signs and verses, thraldom at the hall of unity and attachment to the palace of mercifulness. Consider with what severance, attraction and enkindlement the apostles of His Holiness the Spirit—May my life be a ransom to Him!—arose in the promulgation of the Word of God after His crucifixion. We hope from the bestowal of the True One that we may likewise walk in the footsteps of those pure ones and hasten unhesitatingly and rejoicingly toward the arena of love and sacrifice. This is the inexhaustible outpouring. This is the grace of His Highness the forgiving Lord.
In these days the progress of the divine principles are impeded in some parts and retarded in others, and this has become conducive to the sorrow and grief of the Supreme Concourse, because the dwellers of the Kingdom of Abha are expecting to see each one of us fulfilling the conditions of loyalty and for the sake of the love of the Most Great Name suffer every form of persecution. A number of the merciful friends forsook their material tranquillity and composure and traveled from city to city, nay, rather, village to village, in order to diffuse the fragrances of God. These souls, endowed with such pure spirits, became the objects of the commendation of the Supreme Concourse—May my life be a ransom to them!—for they became confirmed with this most exalted grace. They spent their days amidst the greatest difficulties and hardships, and employed their time in the guidance of the negligent ones.
O ye friends! This is not the time of rest and tranquillity! This is not the season of silence and stillness. The nightingale of the rose-garden of uprightness must display its wonderful melodies and trills. The bird of guidance must exhibit its eloquent speech. The light and the heat are the concomitant results of the lamp. The brilliancy of the stars must be everlasting. The existence of the ocean connotes the waves. The birds must soar toward the apex. The pearls are inseparable from their lustre and sweet fragrance must qualify the blossoms of the rose-garden of knowledge. It is hoped that through the favor of the living, Self-subsistent, we may become assisted in a befitting manner.
O ye believers of God! Divine teachings are conducive to eternal life, the cause of the illumination of the world of humanity, the means of peace and conciliation, love and salvation, the basis of fellowship, uprightness and friendship in the world of creation and the instrument of unity and accord, solidarity and inter-dependence amongst the individuals of the body politic. Consequently you must lay the foundation of this structure in this mortal world; thus you may confer upon it infinite and abundant life and become the source of the enlightenment of the world of existence. It is incumbent upon you to consort with all the nations and people of the world with the utmost love, kindness and show affection, justice, assistance, consideration and courtesy to all the different communities and sects. Become ye a remedy to every pain, a balsam of healing and recovery to every wound, to every weak one become ye a support and aid and succor every poor one. Become ye to the fearful ones the impregnable cave of safety and to the agitated ones a sure asylum. . . . . In this great cycle it is more acceptable and beloved to close one's eyes to all the limitations. The friends may become the manifestors of the qualities of the Merciful and Clement and arise in the service of all humanity; nay, rather they must be most kind toward the animals; for verily His mercy hath encompassed all things. . . . .
O ye believers of God! This is the time of self-abnegation and renunciation and the era of servitude and loyalty. The utmost height of this servant is the station of Servitude to His Highness the Almighty. If he becomes accepted at the threshold of servitude how glorious will be this most great gift. Otherwise he will be deprived of the mercy of God. Therefore the utmost hope and aspiration of ‘Abdu’l-Baha is to open his wings in this space, to run toward this field, obtain infinite exhilaration from this wine, be intoxicated with this cup and acquire the longing of heart and spirit. Every other mention save this unchangeable, beloved name (‘Abdu’l-Baha) will become the cause of grief and sorrow and the source of the greatest regret and illimitable remorse. I request from the friends of God that day and night they may supplicate and implore at the divine Kingdom so that my servitude might become accepted in the threshold of Baha’u’llah.
O ye believers of God! If you wish the joy, happiness and the composure of the spirit and the peace of the conscience of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, strengthen the bonds of union and harmony amongst yourselves so that all of you may become the waves of one sea, the drops of one river, the flowers of one garden, the links of one cuirass, soaring in the atmosphere and breaking forth into one glad song. This is the cause of my everlasting joy! This is the motive of the repose of my mind and heart in the eternal world! . . . . Today there is no greater service than union and accord amongst the believers. This is the imperative need! This is the happy consummation. This is the most great attainment and the manifest bestowal for those who are sheltered beneath the shade of the Blessed Tree!
Upon ye be greeting and praise!
(Signed) ‘Abdu’l-Baha Abbas.
(Star of the West, vol. 7, no. 14, November 23, 1916)
