Assisting God: the victory that begins within the heart

Say: O concourse of earth! Aid ye God through your hearts and deeds, that God may aid you in an atmosphere wherein the breaths of the Spirit have been wafted. Know ye that God's victory is your own victory over self, whereby ye become distinguished from all else in the realm through that which proceedeth from you - this being a victory which hath been set forth in detail in the Tablet.

Be as one soul in upholding the Cause, then aid your Lord, the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate, though He is in truth independent of the help of all in the heavens and earth, if ye be of them that are endued with insight. He commandeth His servants to render aid that they may thereby detach themselves from all else but Him and turn towards a holy and luminous direction.

It followeth, therefore, that rendering assistance unto God, in this day, doth not and shall never consist in contending or disputing with any soul; nay rather, what is preferable in the sight of God is that the cities of men's hearts, which are ruled by the hosts of self and passion, should be subdued by the sword of utterance, of wisdom and of understanding. Thus, whoso seeketh to assist God must, before all else, conquer, with the sword of inner meaning and explanation, the city of his own heart and guard it from the remembrance of all save God, and only then set out to subdue the cities of the hearts of others.

Such is the true meaning of rendering assistance unto God. Sedition hath never been pleasing unto God, nor were the acts committed in the past by certain foolish ones acceptable in His sight. Know ye that to be killed in the path of His good pleasure is better for you than to kill.

Therefore, to assist God's Cause in this day doth not and shall never mean to engage in opposition and contention or conflict with any soul. Rather, what is preferable is that the cities of men's hearts should be conquered through the sword of wisdom and of utterance, and not through the sword of iron. Thus should anyone desire to assist the Cause of God, let him first conquer the city of his own heart with the sword of spiritual truth and of expression, cleanse it from all things save God, and then turn towards the cities of others' hearts. This is the meaning of assisting God's Cause that hath dawned from the horizon of the finger of the King of Names.

Aid ye the All-Merciful through goodly words and righteous deeds. Thus have ye been commanded in the Tablets from the presence of One All-Knowing, All-Informed.

The ultimate victory belongs to the righteous - this is a definitive glad-tiding. "Verily Our hosts shall be triumphant" is the promise of a great bounty.

Victory comes through divine qualities, not through harshness, severity and ferocity.

If, then, you desire to help your Lord, the All-Merciful, emerge from the veils of self and passion, then remind the people of what the Most Glorious Beauty has taught you, that your words may influence every pure-hearted hearer. Know that victory consists in preserving yourselves from that which you have been forbidden, your eyes from gazing upon aught but God, your hearts from remembering aught but Him, your faces from turning to anything besides Him, your hands from possessing the property of others, and your feet from walking in any path save His good-pleasure.

Victory is of two kinds: one pertains to the physical world and the other to the spiritual realm. Although both are desired and beloved, and both are accepted and yearned for, yet physical victories have no abundant results or praiseworthy effects - they are but a moment, expressed as a dewdrop. But spiritual, divine victory is a sun whose rays are eternal, whose heat is everlasting, whose zenith is pre-existent and whose waves are immortal.

O Nasru'llah! By My life, he who hath known Me hath, from time immemorial, helped God, and this is the true meaning of help, as attested by the Tongue of Grandeur and confirmed by the realities of all things. Yet most men remain behind a mighty veil.

Your turning to the Ka'bah of Glory and arising to promote His Cause is itself a victory, and God, exalted be His glory, hath accepted it and recorded you among the helpers in the Preserved Tablet.

I testify that thou hast rendered victorious assistance unto thy Lord and art accounted among His helpers. By My testimony all things bear witness - this is the foundation, wert thou to be among those who know. What thou doest by His command and good-pleasure is true help in the sight of thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

Aid ye yourselves by turning towards the court of your Lord, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy.

Say: O servants of the All-Merciful! Aid your Lord, the Most High, the Most Exalted, in this Revelation which hath appeared in His Most Glorious Name, and turn not your attention to whatsoever hath been created between earth and heaven. This is better for you, did ye but know. He desireth naught for you save to draw you nigh unto a sublime station of glory.

Today, whosoever desires to render assistance must pass beyond all that he possesses and fix his gaze upon that which is with God.

He loveth faithfulness, abandoneth not those who love Him, wasteth not the reward of those who seek Him, and remaineth not distant from those who draw nigh unto Him. For such a Lord must ye offer your praise and remembrance and render Him assistance through your own selves.

It behooveth every soul to assist his Lord through this Most Great Name. Whoso assisteth Him in His land, He will assuredly assist him in worlds which none knoweth save the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

By God! If a soul should draw but one breath in aid of this wondrous and exalted Cause, it would equal all the acceptable deeds of the dwellers of earth and heaven - nay, it cannot be compared with anything, would you but reflect.

I swear by the Sun of Truth, which is sanctified above the comprehension of the peoples of the world, that whosoever ariseth to render assistance, even to the extent of a needle's eye, is accounted before God among those who are nigh and the sincere ones.

Blessed is the strong one who hath arisen to serve the Cause and the weak one who hath been strengthened through the power of his Lord, the Mighty, the Bountiful.

We bear witness that through thee and thy like were the gates of acceptance opened for the servants and the rains of mercy rained down upon the lands.

There is none other God but Thee, the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous, the All-Merciful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Glory and praise and remembrance and honor be upon Thee, O my leaf, and upon those handmaidens who turned to God when the Cause was manifested and the Call was raised, and who attained unto that which the radiant leaf attained, she who aided the Cause of God before the face of the Lord upon the snow-white spot.

He spent that which he possessed for the exaltation of Thy Word, the triumph of Thy Cause, and the spread of Thy verses.

Ye are they who cast away the world and hastened unto God, the Ancient of Days, whilst the nations were in manifest loss. Ye are they who aided God upon the earth and made manifest His sovereign power over all worlds. We bear witness unto you: through you were banners raised by the hands of bounty, and ye testified to that whereunto God Himself testified ere the creation of the heavens and the earth---that there is none other God but Him, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

O My Most Exalted Pen! We have desired to make mention of one who has turned towards My horizon when he heard My call and arose to render Me victorious when he read My mighty Book.

Be thou assured of thy Lord's favor, for He recordeth for whomsoever He willeth the reward of one who, with His leave, hath turned to Him, traversed land and sea in His love, presented himself at the door, and hearkened to the call of the Lord of the Final Return.

We have nurtured thee for My help and have cast upon thee the Word from the tongue of grandeur that thou mayest arise to make mention of Me amongst My servants and bring them nigh unto the heaven of My loving-kindness and cause them to enter My hallowed and exalted Kingdom.

In these days, mention of the Truth and victory for the Truth take precedence over all deeds, and victory has been and shall be through utterance.

And dost thou see in the heavens any who speak My Name and arise to aid My Cause through wisdom and utterance, forsaking all else out of love for God, the Lord of all worlds?

Aid thou His Cause with wisdom - He will aid thee through the truth.

We beseech God at the end of this epistle to assist thee to help the Wronged One through the standards of wisdom and utterance and the hosts of remembrance and exposition.

We beseech God to make you among those who aided His Cause with the hosts of exposition. … The Glory be upon you and upon those who aided the Cause of God, the Lord of the worlds.

God willing, you will be assisted and confirmed at all times in the remembrance of Truth and the victory of the Cause of Truth through wisdom and utterance and through what He loves and is pleased with in all matters.

Say: O people of earth, aid God, your Lord, with the swords of your hearts, with whatsoever power ye possess in the kingdom.

Give the glad tidings of divine favors to Jinab-i-Dhu'l-Faqar Khan that he may become an unsheathed sword in support of the Cause of God and may conquer the regions of hearts.

Then you will observe how this host of the armies of life and this contingent of the forces of salvation will arrange such a spiritual battle line that the ranks and thousands of the peoples and tribes of the world will be broken one by one, and "verily Our hosts shall be victorious" will become manifest.

If you remain steadfast and firm, know with certainty that you will be assisted by the confirmations of the Most Glorious Kingdom and will be enabled to serve the Kingdom of God, for by the power of the Word of God and the breaths of the Holy Spirit, all the mighty forces of the angels of heaven are arrayed in the highest horizon, waiting for a soul to charge forth in the arena of the Kingdom so that all may render victory and assistance.

Verily, We behold you from Our realm of glory, and shall aid whosoever will arise for the triumph of Our Cause with the hosts of the Concourse on high and a company of Our favored angels."

Be delighted, O ye who are firm and steadfast, in the victory of your Lord, the Most Merciful, and the descent of the hosts of your Master, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, from His most glorious Kingdom and most exalted Dominion!

Say: God shall soon raise up a people possessed of mighty strength, and through them will He aid the Youth as He aided Him the first time. These shall not be hindered by veils nor withheld by allusions, for this is not difficult for God. Their hearts are as blocks of iron, such that nothing in the heavens or earth shall cause them fear.

Aid the Cause of your Lord with such steadfastness as will cause spirits and minds to be amazed.

Then assist the Cause with an impregnable steadfastness. … God willing, you must, through the breaths of glory from the All-Merciful and the holy favors of the Eternal, arise at all times with utmost effort to assist the Cause.

Aid thou the Cause of thy Lord in all conditions - the hosts of earth and heaven shall not prevent Me.

It behooveth you both to arise at all times to make mention of Me and to aid My Cause in such wise that the might of the oppressors shall not deter you.

Arise with supreme steadfastness in the Cause of the Lord of Names, then summon the people of Baha and give them the glad-tidings of this forbidden Remembrance, that they may arise to help the Wronged One and proclaim that there is no God but He, the All-Compelling, the Self-Subsisting.

O servant! When thou hearest the Call that hath been raised in the Tablet and attainest unto the utterance of the All-Merciful, arise to aid the Wronged One and be not of them that hesitate.

Say: O ye that slumber, awaken at the call of God! O ye that sit still, arise to aid His Cause, the All-Subduing, the Lord of all worlds!

O helpers of victory! By God, this is His Day, were ye of them that know. O ye who are endowed with power! This is the Day whereon it behoveth you to arise with your might to aid the Cause of your Lord, the Mighty, the Inaccessible. Seize ye these days and then aid your Lord, the Mighty, the All-Knowing.

Arise to aid the Cause of thy Lord.

Aid thy Lord amongst His servants. This is what God hath prescribed for everyone who hath believed in Him in this mighty Revelation.

On such a Day as this, it behooveth you to aid and remember your Creator, O people of guidance!

Arise to serve thy Lord. Say: O people, fear ye God and follow not those who have opposed the Dawning-Place of Revelation when He came with manifest sovereignty.

And say: Here assist God through the Great Name, and here through the Noble Name with mighty assistance.

A letter from your honor arrived before this servant indicating excessive anxiety and distress. Nothing was observed therein except the mention that two persons in that land had read a writing which indicated that people should go to Baghdad to render assistance to the Truth.

Alone and unaided I have, by the power of Thy might, arisen to proclaim Thy Cause, unafraid of the host of my oppressors.

Thou art He Who hath spent His spirit in the path of God and stood up alone between the heavens and the earth. My soul be a sacrifice for thy faithfulness, O Beloved of them that know!

They have arisen to promote Thy Cause and have spoken forth Thy Name before the faces of Thine enemies, despite those who denied Thy proof and Thy signs, and who committed that which caused the dwellers of Thy Kingdom and Thy Realm to lament.

Ye must never be saddened, for whatever has occurred has been in the path of God. Blessed are those souls who have been patient and grateful in times of tribulation.

For ultimately the radiance of the Kingdom will overwhelm the darkness of the world of being, and the holy, exalted character of your aims will become unmistakably apparent. Nothing shall remain concealed: the olive oil, though stored within the deepest vault, shall one day burn in brightness from the lamp atop the beacon.

Convey My greetings to the friends in that land and say: God willing, the world should become perfumed through the fragrance of your turning to God, acceptance and steadfastness. This is what We have counseled the servants with in most of Our Tablets.

O servant! Be thou assured of God's grace and mercy. Soon will the believers behold the banners of victory from all directions through My Most Great Name.

Soon shall come a day wherein the standards of victory and power shall be raised in the name of thy Lord, the Chosen One, and on that day the sincere shall be in great joy.

Soon shall the banners of victory be upraised, and sovereignty shall remain with God, the Mighty, the All-Bestowing.

God will soon raise up His Cause in truth and will waft the breezes of glory upon the oppressed, and the Bird of Unity will sing in the midst of heaven that this is the Day wherein God will assist His Cause.

Soon shall the sincere ones find the signs of their Lord's victory, the All-Merciful, and by them shall those who associate partners with God be shaken.

O 'Ali, O thou who gazest upon My face! The servant who is present hath laid before Me thy letter at a time when sorrows have encompassed Me from all directions by reason of what hath befallen My loved ones at the hands of the aggressive forces. O 'Ali! The idolators desired to extinguish the fire of God and put out His light. Say: Perdition betide you, O company of the lost! Did Pharaoh attain what he desired, or did Nimrod profit from what he wrought? Nay, by the Self of God Who dominateth all who are in the heavens and on earth!

Be as a flame of fire to the wicked, or as the wrath of the Almighty against the evil ones - this behooveth thee if thou art of those who act.

Give defeat to the presumptuous claimants so that the religion of God may adorn the world and shine forth to the universe. May the lovers of the Abha Beauty become impassioned and bring the world of existence to resurrection and gathering.

In these days, praise be to God, through the confirmations of the Kingdom of God, the chains and fetters have been removed from the necks of the wanderers and the shackles and manacles have been placed upon the necks of the hostile ones. The oppressors have been caught in failure, and the tyrants, defeated, condemned and rejected, have become prisoners.

In any case, the Word of God is penetrating, the Cause of God is triumphant, the parties of Satan are vanquished, and the party of God is confirmed and victorious.

Soon shall the enemies of God and their deeds and utterances become null and void and perish and be lost, while the mention of His loved ones shall be exalted in the assemblage of the world.

The victory of the Most Glorious Kingdom arrived, and the lights of confirmation of the Sun of Truth shone forth.

You seek a new victory and triumph and desire increased aid and bounty. It is as was written. God willing, victory will lead to victory in the Kingdom and you will be triumphant in attaining your hopes and desires.

Through the grace of the Intended One, there is hope that you will be assisted to serve the Cause of the King of existence.

If all nations arise to oppose they will be vanquished, and you will be victorious.

War is good so long as it has no defeat. That is the war of the loved ones of God. Whether they sit on the throne of sovereignty, they are victorious, and if they are raised upon the gallows, they are victorious. In every case they are victorious. You have won whether it comes up even or odd.

Unto Thee belongeth all creation and authority, from the beginning and unto the end, and verily Thou art the best of helpers. Therefore, O God, aid this Faith with a mighty triumph and send down, O Lord, from Thy presence the hosts of the heavens and earth and all that lieth between them upon such as place their trust in God and through Him seek victory.

O Lord, O Lord! Assist him with a heavenly power and a divine might, that he may resist the onslaught of the enemies and the attacks of the hateful ones, and triumph over the oppressors, and that Thy conquering victory may be made manifest over all things.

O Lord! Strengthen them with mighty power and enfold them in the glances of Thine eye of mercy amidst humanity, and ordain for them every good in the latter and former life, and assist them with hosts from the Supreme Concourse, and preserve them in the shelter of Thy supreme protection that they may aid Thy wronged servant for whom the eyes of those near unto Thee weep in the Abha Kingdom.

O my God and my Beloved! After Thou didst conceal Thyself behind the veils of perfection, hide behind the clouds of glory, cover Thyself with the veil of absence, and deprive eyes from witnessing and ears from hearing Thy address - do Thou open before our faces the gates of favors, direct our gaze toward the Kingdom of bounty, assist us with the hosts of Thy unseen realm, aid us with the army of Thy might and power, quicken our hearts with the sweet savors of Thy holiness, illuminate our vision with witnessing the signs of Thy glory, expand our breasts through the traces of Thy oneness, and make us servants of Thy Cause who rely upon Thy help and protection and who hasten to the field of sacrifice out of longing to meet Thee.

Then clothe him in the armor of Thy protection, and preserve him from every disease and hardship and calamity and ailment and pain, that he may aid Thee in Thy dominion and make mention of Thee amidst Thy creatures.

I beseech Thee, O Lord of the worlds, to assist Thy loved ones with the wonders of Thy assistance, for they have taken no helper besides Thee, and Thou art aware of the love for Thee that dwelleth in their hearts.

Then send down upon them from the heaven of Thy generosity that which will bring tranquility to their hearts, that they may arise to help Thy Cause amongst Thy servants in such wise that the oppression of those who have denied Thy signs will not frighten them.

I beseech Thee by Thy most great signs and by the breezes of Thy bounty at the dawning of the lights of the Sun of Thy Manifestation in the kingdom of creation, to assist Thy loved ones in serving Thy Cause in such wise that neither the opposition of the servants nor the objections of any in the land shall hinder them.

I beseech Thee, O Thou through the attraction of Whose verses the sincere hastened to the place of sacrifice and they who are nigh rushed to the assistance of Thy Cause when the clamor was raised - I beseech Thee by Thy Most Great Name, through which the limbs of the nations trembled, to assist Thy loved ones to stand firm in Thy Cause and in Thy love.

Say: O God, my Beloved of the worlds and the Desire of them that have recognized Thee! I beseech Thee by Thy Name through which Thou didst subdue the world to make me of them who have aided Thy Cause and stood firm in Thy love in such wise that neither the might of kings nor the conditions of the lowly hindered them.

Then I beseech Thee, O my God, to assist those who are around Thee to champion Thy Cause and arise to serve Thee and stand firm in Thy religion, in such wise that the allusions of the ungodly may not prevent them from turning to Thee, nor the words of the misguided from beholding the horizon of Thy grace.

I beseech Thee to assist me to aid Thy Cause among Thy creatures in such wise that the power of princes shall not weaken me.

Say: O my God and my Master! I beseech Thee by the Lamp of Thy Revelation whereby Thy heaven and earth were illumined, and by the tribulations of the Dayspring of Thy signs Who hath been afflicted amidst the wrongdoers among Thy creatures, to make me one of those who in Thy love have detached themselves from all else but Thee, who have arisen to serve Thee amongst Thy servants, and who have been so carried away by the breezes of Thy love that they have cast behind them all that is on earth in manifesting Thy Cause and exalting Thy Word.

O Lord! The thirst of separation and remoteness hath consumed me; give me to drink, by the hands of Thy favors, from the Kawthar of nearness and reunion, that the intoxication of the choice wine of Thy mercy may seize me in such wise that I may arise to aid Thy Cause amongst Thy creatures and rend asunder the veils of glory that have prevented the servants from turning toward the horizon of beauty.

This is Your servant who has clung to the hem of Your favors and been attracted by Your holy fragrances and been ignited by the fire kindled in the Tree of Your oneness and has arisen with all his strength to exalt Your Word and spread Your sweet savors and cause Your lights to shine forth and Your mysteries to be revealed and to magnify Your signs and adorn Your banners and proclaim Your virtues and make universal Your mercies.

I implore Thee, O my Lord, by Thy surpassing majesty and Thine Ancient Name, to enable Thy loved ones to assist Thee. Direct, then, continually their faces towards Thy face, and write down for them what will cause all hearts to exult and all eyes to be gladdened.

I beseech Thee by the treasuries of Thy knowledge and the repositories of Thy wisdom, and by Thy Most Great Command and Thy Most Ancient Name, to assist me in all conditions to serve Thee and to serve Thy loved ones, and to ordain for me that which befitteth Thy glory and Thy majesty, Thy Cause and Thy sovereignty.

I beseech Thee by the ocean of Thy power and the law of Thy commandments, and by the sea of Thy mercy and the Euphrates of Thy grace, and by Him through Whom the idols of vain imaginings were cast down in Thy realm and the banners of divine signs were raised up amongst Thy servants, to make me a helper of Thy Faith, steadfast in Thy service, hastening to do that which pleaseth Thee, and an aid to Thy loved ones.

Then I beseech Thee, O Lord of existence and Sovereign over the seen and unseen, by the pearls of the ocean of Thy knowledge and Thy hidden and treasured mysteries in Thy tablets, to make me among those who have aided Thy Cause through wisdom and utterance and have done what Thou hast commanded them in the Book.

I beseech Thee, O Lord of all names and Creator of heaven, by Thy Name through which Thou hast subdued the kingdom of earth and heaven, to ordain for me that which shall profit me in all the worlds of Thy worlds, and inspire me with that which shall kindle the hearts of Thy servants, and preserve me through the sovereignty of Thy power that I may arise to aid Thy Cause in Thy realm and be a servant of Thy Command in Thy lands.

I beseech Thee, O my God, to manifest for the victory of this Revelation one who is worthy of Thy Name and Thy sovereignty, that he may remember Thee amongst Thy creation and raise the standards of Thy triumph in Thy realm.

Say: O God, O Revealer of verses and Manifestor of clear proofs! I beseech Thee by the Dawning-Place of Thy knowledge, the Dayspring of Thy revelation, and the Manifestation of Thy Self, to ordain for me what Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones who have arisen to aid Thy Cause amidst Thy creatures.

I beseech Thee, O Bestower of bounties and Lord of all peoples, to ordain for me through the Pen of Thy will that which shall render me a helper of Thy Cause and one who speaks Thy praise amidst the factions.

I beseech Thee by Thy Name through which the standards of Thy triumph were raised above the ensigns of Thy dominion, and through which the Sun of Thy Revelation shone forth and the heaven of Thy bounty was upraised and the ocean of Thy generosity surged, to make me one of those who have aided Thy Cause and arose to serve Thee.

I beseech Thee by Thy Name through which all names have bowed down, that Thou aid me in that which will cause Thy Cause to be exalted amongst Thy creation and Thy remembrance amongst Thy servants.

I beseech Thee to make me steadfast in Thy Cause and a herald of Thy Name amongst Thy servants.

We entreat Thee, O Thou Who art the Cloud of Bounty and the Succorer of the distressed, that Thou wilt aid us to remember Thee, and to make known Thy Cause, and to arise to help Thee.

Then aid them, O my God, to assist Thy Cause in Thy realm and to make mention of Thee among Thy creation.

O Lord! Aid Thy loved ones to remember and praise Thee, then ordain for them from Thy generosity that which will profit them in Thy worlds.

We implore God to assist His loved ones in that which will today cause the exaltation of His Cause, that their mention may endure forever.

This servant beseecheth God, his Lord and your Lord, to assist those who strive among our believing brethren, to aid them with the hosts of the unseen and the seen, to grant them victory through His might and His power and His sovereignty, and to manifest through you what He hath sent down in His perspicuous Book.

O my Lord! Assist me to aid Thy Cause and to enter the precincts of the glory of Thy oneness.

I beseech Thee to assist me to serve Thy Cause.

Aid your Lord, the All-Merciful, at all times. Verily He is with you, and He hath power over all things.

Say: O My loved ones! Aid your Lord, the Most Merciful, in all creation. By God! All that you see today shall perish, but that which has been sent down to you from the Supreme Pen shall endure.

And the Spirit and Glory be upon thee and upon those who have aided their Lord, the Most Merciful, at every daybreak and sunset.