Divine bounty: the gift that sustains existence

Verily, divine bestowals are like the sea, and we are the fishes of that sea. The fishes must not look at themselves; they must behold the ocean, which is vast and wonderful. Provision for the sustenance of all is in this ocean; therefore, the divine bounties encompass all, and love eternal shines upon all.

Throughout the universe the divine power is effulgent in endless images and pictures. The world of creation, the world of humanity may be likened to the earth itself and the divine power to the sun. This Sun has shone upon all mankind. In the endless variety of its reflections the divine Will is manifested. Consider how all are recipients of the bounty of the same Sun.

There can be no doubt whatever that if for one moment the tide of His mercy and grace were to be withheld from the world, it would completely perish.

Every created being however revealeth His signs which are but emanations from Him and not His Own Self. All these signs are reflected and can be seen in the book of existence, and the scrolls that depict the shape and pattern of the universe are indeed a most great book. … Consider the rays of the sun whose light hath encompassed the world. The rays emanate from the sun and reveal its nature, but are not the sun itself.

Question: What is the nature of the connection between God and His creation, between the Absolute and Inaccessible One and all other beings?

Answer: The connection between God and His creation is that of the originator and the originated, of the sun and the dark bodies of the universe, of the craftsman and his handiwork.

… The procession of creation from God is a procession through emanation; that is, creation emanates from God, it does not manifest Him. The connection is that of emanation and not of manifestation. The light of the sun emanates from the sun, it does not manifest it.

Rays of sunlight, the heat of the sun, or the falling rain of divine bounty are bestowed unconditionally and without any ulterior motive. In the same manner, a Baha'i must be the manifestation of divine generosity and charity.

There it not difference in the bounties of God; a profusion of bounties are outpoured continually upon all sorts of land, but when the precious shower falls on a barren land, it causes thorns and weeds to grow. The same bounty and the same shower causes a good, fertile land to bear roses and grass and useful things.

For this Cause of the Ancient Beauty is like the Most Great Sea and the Most Glorious Treasury - each one partakes according to their capacity. Some take a drop, some take a sip, some take a pool, and some, the more they drink, the more their thirst increases and their ardor intensifies, for there is no end to the infinite bounty and no beginning or end to the perfections of the Sun of Truth.

The Creator has ever had a creation, and the rays have ever emanated and shone forth from the Sun of Truth, for a lightless sun would be impenetrable darkness. The names and attributes of God require the existence of things, and no cessation in the outpouring of God's ancient grace can ever be contemplated, for this would be contrary to the divine perfections.

This is the Day whereon naught can be seen except the splendors of the Light that shineth from the face of Thy Lord, the Gracious, the Most Bountiful. Verily, We have caused every soul to expire by virtue of Our irresistible and all-subduing sovereignty. We have, then, called into being a new creation, as a token of Our grace unto men.

… Look not upon the creatures of God except with the eye of kindliness and of mercy, for Our loving providence hath pervaded all created things, and Our grace encompassed the earth and the heavens.

O you who are enchanted by the Face of the Friend! Whatever exists is from Him, and whatever you see is a sign of His bounty.

All creatures that exist are dependent upon the Divine Bounty. Divine Mercy gives life itself. As the light of the sun shines on the whole world, so the Mercy of the infinite God is shed on all creatures.

Question: In what manner does the human spirit proceed from God, since in the Torah it is said that God breathed the spirit into the body of man?

Answer: Know that procession is of two kinds: procession and appearance through emanation and procession and appearance through manifestation. Emanational procession is like the procession of the handiwork from its author. For example, the writing proceeds from the writer. Now, just as the writing emanates from the writer and the discourse from the speaker, so does the human spirit emanate from God.

And the realization of things is of two kinds: manifestational and emanational. The manifestational is like when a flower emerges from this tree - this is manifestational realization. But what we mean is emanational realization, like rays emanating from the sun. Similarly, created things have emanated from that True Existence. Thus created things are from Him, not Him.

The Sufis believe that the realities of things have manifested from the True One, and in this regard they give the example and similitude of the seed and tree, saying that the tree is the manifestation of the seed - that single reality which is the seed has appeared in these branches, leaves, blossoms and fruit, thus all are expressions of it. But the people of truth maintain that the appearance of the realities of things from the True One is through emanation, not manifestation, just as the ray emanates from luminous bodies - all are from Him but are not Him. The luminous rays, infinite bounties, and spiritual impressions and reflections emanated from the Sun of Truth; it is not that they were the manifestation of the Sun of Truth.

Unity is to behold the revelation of Truth in all signs, not to consider creation as Truth. For instance, behold in all things the revelation of the Sun of the name "Lord", for in all things the effects of this name are visible and the education of all depends upon it.

The difference resides in the fact that the Sufis maintain that the realities of all things are the manifestation of the One, whereas the Prophets say that they emanate therefrom. And great indeed is the difference between manifestation and emanation.

… The first emanation is the outpouring grace of the Kingdom, which has emanated from God and has appeared in the realities of all things, even as the rays emanating from the sun are reflected in all things. And that grace---the rays---appears in infinite forms in the realities of all things, and is specified and individuated according to their capacity, receptivity, and essence.

But in the eyes of the people of Truth, the Baha'is, that unseen and unknowable Being is like unto the sun, which hath dawned above all things and from whose rays all creatures, whether mineral, plant, animal, or human, obtain illumination. That is to say, its effulgent rays shine upon them all and they, in turn, reflect faithfully its light. Thus, if thou dost gaze upon the stone, the earth, the plant, the animal, and man, thou wilt find them one and all to be partaking of the bounty of the sun.

The Sun of Truth hath shone forth from the Horizon of Unity upon all the regions. All contingent things are clad with the garment of existence through the rays of the sun. Were it not for the rays of the sun no being could step forth upon the arena of life.

O thou daughter of the Kingdom! The Lord of the Kingdom and the Sun of Truth has sent forth a splendor and effulgence upon the world and the universe. All the contingent things found life and existence from the rays of that Effulgence, entered and became manifest in the Arena of Being. Therefore, all the objective phenomena are as surfaces of mirrors upon which the Sun of Truth has cast the rays of the Outpouring of Bounty. All these surfaces (different stages of life) are mirrors reflecting the rays of the Sun of Truth. The Outpouring is the One Outpouring, and the Effulgence is the One Effulgence.

Creation is like the sunlight; God is the sun. This light comes forth from the sun; that does not mean that the sun has become the light. The light emanates from the sun.

To illustrate: Take a lamp; its light is created by the sun but is no part of the light of the sun. The action of the sun upon the earth produced the petroleum that gives the light. Neither the petroleum nor the light is any part of the sun.

And so it is with the life, or essence, of all creation. God has created all beings, but their life, or essence, is not the Life of the Spirit. The Bounty of God is bestowed upon the mineral, the vegetable, animal, and man, but their life, or essence, is not the Spirit of God.

This quickening spirit emanates spontaneously from the Sun of Truth, from the reality of Divinity, and is not a revelation or a manifestation. It is like the rays of the sun. The rays are emanations from the sun. This does not mean that the sun has become divisible, that a part of the sun has come out into space.

The Easterner understands better than the Westerner that the world (the cosmos) is a reflection of the Creator. The Godhead is represented in the category (the image) of the light, the sun, and the created (the world) is a reflection of Divine Light, for the relationship of the created to the Creator is incomprehensible and can only be seen and represented in a pale comparison (analogy).

Thus the purpose of the world of creation is the realization of things through the bounty of existence, and this is among the requirements of divine grace and bounty, and the divine names and attributes necessitate it.

For the Merciful Manifestation, the Divine Dawning-Place, and the Eternal Setting-Place hath two stations in the world of appearance and two ranks in the realm of manifestation. In the first station, He is the source of the water of life, the heavenly spring of salvation, and the spirit that pervades the realities of all things. This mighty outpouring and manifest bounty is expressed as the flowing water, and "from water did We create every living thing."

Man, then, is in extreme need of the only Power by which he is able to receive help from the Divine Reality, that Power alone bringing him into contact with the Source of all life.

An intermediary is needed to bring two extremes into relation with each other. Riches and poverty, plenty and need: without an intermediary power there could be no relation between these pairs of opposites.

The reality of the Divinity is even as the sun, which from the heights of its sanctity shines upon every land, and of whose radiance every land and every soul receives a share. Were it not for this light and this radiance, nothing could exist. Now, all created things tell of this light, partake of its rays and receive their portion thereof, but the full splendour of the perfections, bounties and attributes of the Divinity shines forth from the reality of the Perfect Man, that is, that unique Individual Who is the universal Manifestation of God.

Praise be to God Who hath ever caused His Names and Attributes to penetrate the degrees of existence; Who hath made the effects of those Names and Attributes to shine resplendent and their signs to be firmly established in both the hidden and manifest worlds.

… Know thou that all that is infinite hath been created by One Who is infinite. Limitations are a characteristic of the finite, and restriction is a quality of existent things, not of the reality of existence.

O thou whose eyes are fixed upon the Kingdom of Abha!

When thou ponderest deeply into the realities of things thou wilt see them all emanating from the reflections of God's names and attributes and the signs of the One Who shineth from the Sinai Mount - names and attributes which are entrusted in the realities of things.

Existence is realized and possible through the bounty of God, just as the ray or flame emanating from this lamp is realized through the bounty of the lamp, from which it originates.

… When the man who is spiritually sagacious and possessed of insight views the world of humanity, he will observe that the lights of the divine bounty are flooding all mankind, just as the lights of the sun shed their splendor upon all existing things.

Man is created in the image of the Merciful [God], that is, with divine attributes. Therefore, while physical characteristics will perish, divine qualities will endure. The soul is a divine emanation while the body is an earthly composition. Upon you be the divine attributes.

The materialists say that the appearance and emergence of things stems from interaction. Interaction exists in human existence, but this is under the supervision of the power of spirit. Similarly, interaction in this universe is under the supervision of a conquering power.

All things in the world of phenomena are expressive of that one reality. Its lights are shining, its heat is manifest, its power is expressive, and its education, or training, resplendent everywhere. What proof could there be greater than that of its functioning or its attributes which are manifest?

The rays of the sun cause objects to appear. Light is not substance; it is that by virtue of which substances may be seen-it causes substances to appear. In the same way the illumination of God causes the essential reality of substance to become perceptible.

But the eternal flows out to, envelops, and permeates all things which are impermanent. God, or Truth which is the reality of God, gives life to mankind.

The earth in its own inherent condition is dark, while the sun is bright; but the sun shines upon the earth, and the earth is bright by reason of the shining of the sun.

So God has given His light to created beings. God is a perfection which flows out to, envelops, and permeates the world; and mankind should reflect the perfection of God as the earth reflects the rays of the sun.

A person must be either a bestower or a recipient. Then they said that all created things are both bestowers and recipients. For example, this lamp in terms of light is a bestower that bestows light, and it itself also receives bounty from the wick and oil and becomes a recipient. Similarly, this cycle and chain continues until it reaches God, and God, exalted be His grandeur, is the Bestower and not a recipient.

I testify that God, glorified be He, createth all things through a cause, and createth the cause through Himself. By the cause is meant the Primal Will, and by what is created through the cause is meant the conditions of that cause until the appearance of the end.

… Say, He Whom God shall make manifest is indeed the Primal Veil of God. Above this Veil ye can find nothing other than God, while beneath it ye can discern all things emanating from God. He is the Unseen, the Inaccessible, the Most Exalted, the Best Beloved.

Such as communicate the generating influence and such as receive its impact are indeed created through the irresistible Word of God which is the Cause of the entire creation, while all else besides His Word are but the creatures and the effects thereof.

… Every thing must needs have an origin and every building a builder. Verily, the Word of God is the Cause which hath preceded the contingent world -- a world which is adorned with the splendours of the Ancient of Days, yet is being renewed and regenerated at all times. Immeasurably exalted is the God of Wisdom Who hath raised this sublime structure.

O friend of mine! The Word of God is the king of words and its pervasive influence is incalculable. It hath ever dominated and will continue to dominate the realm of being. The Great Being saith: The Word is the master key for the whole world, inasmuch as through its potency the doors of the hearts of men, which in reality are the doors of heaven, are unlocked. No sooner had but a glimmer of its effulgent splendour shone forth upon the mirror of love than the blessed word 'I am the Best-Beloved' was reflected therein.

He hath created all things out of nothing through His all-pervading power, and hath caused all things to come into being from nothingness through His insuperable Will, so that all atoms from a beginning that hath no beginning unto an end that hath no end might be ennobled through His recognition, exalted through His unity, and illumined through acknowledgment of His Manifestations and the commandments and prohibitions that shine forth from the Source of His bounty, such that no created thing, in any state possible to it, hath been deprived of His bounty, and all things have attained to the summit of His grace and existence.

The first mention of a thing without relation to thingness is the existence of Will. At the time of relating existence to thingness it is Purpose. At the time of mentioning meanings it is Destiny. The manifestation of these three ranks is Decree. And at this station it is obligatory upon all contingent things to acknowledge the origination of God, glory be to Him, the Most High.

When He wished, without thought or care, to manifest Will and create Will for all things - these being the letters Mim and Shin - there shone forth from His Essence a radiant light having no end, not separate from Him. Thus did the light manifest the light of radiance to those who perceived it, and radiance manifested a shadow. He established the form of existence through the dual nature of radiance and shadow, making light its inner reality and the Essence its source.

He it is Who was established upon His throne before creating anything, and He was upon the water which He created within Himself before aught was joined unto it, for He, exalted be His might and glory, revealed Himself unto it and cast within its essence His likeness, without anything emerging from His Being in His presence or ascending from His Essence unto Him.

And since the effect indicates naught but the state of its cause, God created from the Will an essence of volition with perfect potentiality therein. Then God created from that essence the five gardens and their seven precincts according to what befitteth it -- and naught befitteth it except what He hath made to befit it -- out of bounty and grace.

When God created the Point, He caused it to descend to the worlds of existence openly and called it to approach by command. It answered the All-Merciful in humility and submission.

Say: Who created the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them? Such is God, your Lord. His is the creation and the command. There is none other God but Him, the Mighty, the Beloved. He it is Who createth what He willeth through His command "Be," and it is! He it is before Whom boweth down in worship whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on earth. We all shall return unto Him.

Inasmuch as the Sun is bound to shine forth forever, those mirrors will never cease to seek reflection in their own limited stations. The effulgence of God hath never been and will never be interrupted or exhausted.

Through Our bounty are Our paths in every Revelation. Say: All shall know what God hath ordained. Through Our bounty was bounty itself created. Say: All are created through God's bounty. Through Our bounty were created the heavens and what lieth above them of the Throne and what lieth above it of the Seat, and the angels in the heavens who glorify God with Our remembrance and who praise Us.

Glorified be He Who bringeth into being whatsoever He willeth by His command; and when He willeth a thing, ere He saith unto it "Be," it is made existent. Praise be to God, Who hath revealed Himself unto the substances of being with the light of His pre-eternal Manifestation -- without how in His Essence, without where in His attributes, and without rule of likeness in similitudes -- that all things might tremble and be stirred in the stations of Command and of Creation as God hath willed and decreed.

When He loved to make Himself known and be described with sanctification and transcendence, He created. He manifested through the lights of His Name, the Creator, and the abstract realities became determined in the world of the particles.

Praise that is sanctified above the mention of all created things and the description of all contingent beings befitteth the court of the holy nearness of the Desired One, Who through His blessed word "I loved to be known" brought the world of creation from nothingness into being, and with the fire of love set aflame the sanctified and detached souls and the radiant and receptive temples. That blessed Word became the dawning-place of light and the source of fire.

From a single will the ocean of bounty came into being, and from one drop thereof the world of existence became manifest and creation appeared. By virtue of His pre-existing mercy and all-encompassing grace, He bestowed sight and granted awareness.

Praise and glory, remembrance and splendor befit the Lord of the Kingdom of Utterance, Who through the attraction of the Most Exalted Word brought being out of utter nothingness, and from non-existence made manifest the signs of eternity that all might testify to His appearance and manifestation, His sovereignty and power, and His bounty.

Praise and glory be to the one true God Who adorned non-existence with the ornament of being, made manifest the non-existent through causes He created for His own bestowal, and ordained means for the expression of bounty in the world.

Through the movement of the Will, resplendent waves arose, and these waves in one station are His manifestations of Names and attributes that have encompassed the world.

The Sun of generosity hath shone forth, and from that effulgence another effulgence appeared, and from that effulgence yet another became manifest, and from these effulgences the world became illumined and radiant.

Praised be God Who brought forth in the world of being the Invisible Reality of creation - an established, luminous truth emanating through all contingent being. He gave it the image of the All-Merciful and created within it divine perfections and universal realities with manifest clarity.

Wishing to reveal Thyself, Thou didst call into being the Greater and the Lesser Worlds, and didst choose Man above all Thy creatures, and didst make Him a sign of both of these worlds, O Thou Who art our Lord, the Most Compassionate!

And verily the glory from God be upon the First Unity and upon him who resembleth that Unity wherein naught is seen save the First Unity.

And further, I testify that the inspiration of God shall never be cut off from any soul, be it through the outward creation of the horizons or the inward creation of the souls. And the latter is made manifest through the former.

Glory be to Thee, O my God! The power of Thy might beareth me witness! I can have no doubt that should the holy breaths of Thy loving-kindness and the breeze of Thy bountiful favour cease, for less than the twinkling of an eye, to breathe over all created things, the entire creation would perish, and all that are in heaven and on earth would be reduced to utter nothingness.

Know, moreover, that should the cord of assistance binding this mighty Pivot to the dwellers of earth and heaven be severed, they would all assuredly perish.

This is certainly so, for the sustenance of existence comes from the All-Bountiful. If sustenance from God did not reach existence, no created thing would move.

Some souls imagine that there is a cessation to the bounties of God, as if at one time the divine bestowals are poured out, at another time withheld from mankind and ceasing. If we carefully reflect upon this matter, we find that such a statement is in fact a denial of Divinity, for the reality of Divinity is evidenced by virtue of its outpourings or bestowals.

If we could imagine for a moment an interruption in the onward flow of the bounties of God, it would be to suggest that God was a finite being. We cannot imagine such a thing. This proves, therefore, that God has always been the Creator, the Provider, the Generous, the Life-giver, the Omniscient, the Omnipotent: and in the outpouring of His virtues there is no cessation at all.

The bounties of God have had no beginning and shall have no end, because the bounties of God are expressive of the sovereignty of God which is effective in its penetration throughout the phenomena in the world. The sovereignty of God is not, like the human reign of sovereignty, an accidental affair - at a time not existing, anew coming into being, and a time terminating. That is human sovereignty. But the sovereignty of God has no beginning and for it there is no end.

The names and attributes of God have ever been effective and will continue to be effective forevermore.

It is clear and evident that there hath never been, nor shall there ever be, any interruption in the outpouring of the All-Bountiful.

Know thou moreover that every created thing is continually brought forth and returned at the bidding of thy Lord, the God of power and might.

God did not create the world suddenly but God's breath of life becomes God's creative word of command, logos, which continuously creates the world. We have a continuing and not a single act of creation.

All the heavenly Books, divine Prophets, sages and philosophers agree that warfare is destructive to human development, and peace constructive. They agree that war and strife strike at the foundations of humanity. Therefore, a power is needed to prevent war and to proclaim and establish the oneness of humanity.

… God Who breathed the breath of the Holy Spirit upon His servants will breathe it upon them now and hereafter. There is no cessation to His bounty. The Divine Spirit is penetrating from eternity to eternity, for it is the bounty of God, and the bounty of God is eternal.

In every moment He has ordained a favor, in every breath a gift, in every day a new spring, and in every evening a fulfillment. These bestowals and this endless bounty continue forever.

The radiance of the Sun of Truth is the light-giver to the horizons of the world, and the supreme bounty of the Ancient Lord is the quickener of all beings. The rain-cloud of grace is ever-showering, and the candle of the night-realm of bounty is ever-diffusing its rays.

It is the True Cup-bearer Who, from time immemorial and unto all eternity, hath bestowed and continues to bestow the choice wine of inner meanings upon the world of humanity.

How all-encompassing are the wonders of His boundless grace! Behold how they have pervaded the whole of creation. Such is their virtue that not a single atom in the entire universe can be found which doth not declare the evidences of His might, which doth not glorify His holy Name, or is not expressive of the effulgent light of His unity.

Nay, the manifold bounties of the Lord of all beings have, at all times, through the Manifestations of His divine Essence, encompassed the earth and all that dwell therein. Not for a moment hath His grace been withheld, nor have the showers of His loving-kindness ceased to rain upon mankind.

Let us return to the meaning of the Bismillah, and We shall say in explanation of "the All-Merciful" and "the Most Merciful": Know thou that mercy is an expression of the divine outpouring that encompasseth all created things - "His mercy embraceth all things" - and verily it is the source of all contingent beings in all conditions, phases, manifestations, mysteries, realities, existence, effects, determinations, capacities and individuations, both hidden and manifest, in the realm of light.

The world of existence is an emanation of the merciful attribute of God. God has shone forth upon the phenomena of being through His effulgence of mercy, and He is clement and kind to all His creation.

The Sun of bounty shines upon everyone, and the showers of mercy rain upon all, for they are divine bestowals.

Every existence, whether seen or unseen, O my Lord, testifieth that Thy mercy hath surpassed all created things, and Thy loving-kindness embraced the entire creation.

O heedless ones! Though the wonders of My mercy have encompassed all created things, both visible and invisible, and though the revelations of My grace and bounty have permeated every atom of the universe, yet the rod with which I can chastise the wicked is grievous, and the fierceness of Mine anger against them terrible.

I testify to the potency of Thy Cause, the pervasive influence of Thy decree, the immutability of Thy will, the endlessness of Thy purpose.

If the bestowal of existence did not reach creation, "All that are therein are passing away." Despite the bestowal of existence, "each acts according to his own manner" and "We aid both these and those" and "the gift of thy Lord is not restricted."

He is God, exalted be His station, the Greatness and Power!

Praise be to the Adored One Who, in every age and century, nay rather in every year and month, even in every hour and minute, awakens His servants through signs, tokens and allusions. As is evident, at every moment He appears in a new guise, and in every instant a new matter becomes manifest and an event occurs.

The breaths of the verses have encompassed all created things, and they have been sent down at all times from the presence of the All-Merciful. Blessed is the soul that hath inhaled them and circled round them! Were the peoples of the East and West to purify their ears, they would hear them, and thy Lord is verily a witness unto what I say. This bounty is not confined to anyone, but hath encompassed all worlds.

Today the true Beneficent One is manifest, and the sea of bounty is surging, and the effulgences of the Sun of generosity are visible and evident, yet none attained except a few among the men and women servants.

He sendeth down upon whomsoever He willeth among His creatures that which draweth him to the holy court, the dawning-place of a mighty Name. Say: His favor hath encompassed all created things, yet the people have been debarred from the court of grace.

The doors of My favors, which from the beginning that hath no beginning until now had remained sealed, are now opened in truth by the finger of ancient glory.

And the Hidden and Treasured One, Who was forever concealed in the divine treasury of infallibility, has in these days been made manifest - a bounty from His presence upon the world.

In the name of my Lord, the Most High

Boundless praise beseemeth the holy and everlasting court of Him Who hath ever caused, and will continue forever to cause, the Sun of His holy countenance to shine upon the hearts of them that dwell in the highest paradise, and hath made the Sun of His Own Face to radiate upon the souls of them that traverse the depths of grandeur, and hath caused the seed of the revelation of His own reality to flourish for the wayfarers in the desert of the Kingdom, and hath made the star of His manifestations to gleam upon the travelers of the path of justice in the realm of mortality, and hath caused the clouds of the light of His Revelation to gather in the arena of all created things, and hath raised the banner of His grace in the highest heaven of hearts, and hath lifted up the standard of His exaltation in the breezes of command and creation, and hath unfurled the flag of His might and majesty in the atmosphere of the heaven of justice.

He it is Who hath ever caused, and will continue forever to cause, His eternal manifestations to dawn upon the souls and bodies of them that navigate the depths of holiness and sanctity, and hath made the breezes of His everlasting revelations to descend upon the essential realities of them that ascend unto the heavens of glory and majesty, so that all creation might be drawn, through that which He hath ordained and decreed, towards that Garment of Reality, and might witness within the inmost recesses of their hearts the signs of divine grandeur and power, and might, through their own attainment, become suppliants at the gates of His bounty and pardon, their tongues, both hidden and manifest, uttering words of lowliness before the Gate-keeper of His holy majesty.

Having thus entered the age of divine unity, they behold the evidences of God's power, and enter the City of Divine Oneness without intimation and with no trace of heedlessness among its dwellers, and arrive at the paradise of unity without regard to its affluent ones, witnessing the manifestations of the favors and kindnesses of the All-Glorious within the reality of their own hearts, spirits, souls and essential beings.

Glorified be the Beloved, the Everlasting, Who in every effulgence hath manifested a several attribute; Who with each breath hath sent down a wondrous and unprecedented verse; Who, through every quickening breeze, hath created anew the revivification of the bodies of the dead among all created things; Who, in each hallowed theophany, hath suspended for His own Self -- out of the unseen, the realm of "No-Where" -- a sign and token; Who, by every one of the verses of His unity, hath, as He willeth, drawn unto Himself the hearts of all that He hath created and shall yet create; and Who, from every ray of the lights of the Robe of His might, hath made a luminous manifestation, a shining and dazzling vesture -- until all created things have attained the uttermost pinnacle of the grace of His being, and have, within their outward and inward selves, beheld the revelations of His endless theophanies; and, through them, have been drawn unto God, and severed unto God, and cut off from all save Him.

From everlasting, in the heights of pre-eternity, have they been attracted by the impulses of the Robe of His loving-kindness, illumined by the lights of His countenance, exalted through the sanctified appearances of His Manifestations, and uplifted by the conditions of the moments wherein the stations of His might are revealed -- until the sign of His revelation hath appeared within the souls themselves and in the horizons, and through it every thing hath returned unto its Lord, and hastened unto its Master, and become a suppliant for the grace of His being, a beseecher of His pardon and His bestowal, and a seeker after His glory and His gifts.

Glorified be He! There is none other God but Him. How wondrous His handiwork! How mighty His creation! He hath made manifest, in the arena of existence, a vast creation out of nothing; He hath brought into being, by the hand of His power, an atom from no thing, and made it to speak; He hath bestowed, through His theophanies, pure being upon sheer non-existence, and granted absolute existence; and upon them hath He revealed Himself by His most holy Self, through the dawning of the Sun of His Lordship. He hath sent down upon them the verses of His unity in the very heart of multiplicity, and hath made the vestures of the countenance of His oneness to appear, and be proclaimed, from every side and every aspect. With each effulgence He drew them all unto Himself.

O ye lovers of the holy Concourse, ye who ascend the heights of intimacy, ye dwellers in the depths of Paradise, and ye who traverse the boundless ocean! Open the eye of truth and the true ear, hearken unto words of justice and truth, and behold the signs of divine Lordship reflected in the mirrors of your hearts. Let not these base commodities and transient pleasures become a source of distress, nor this brief life a cause of veils, nor this ephemeral existence - whose end is nothingness, decline and extinction - be the means of continued separation from the countenance of the Beloved. For your return is unto the intended Goal, and the conclusion of all is unto God, the Worshipped Lord, the Praised Sovereign.

Come to yourselves for a moment and become conscious for an instant. Escape from the stupor of death and enter into the realm of life. Emerge from your self-intoxication and enter into true being. Drink from the wine of manifestation in the chalice of light, free yourselves from the darkness of every error, take a few draughts from the sweet waters of Salsabil, and find rest and tranquility away from this house of extinction. When ye come to consciousness, gaze for a moment upon the robe of the Beloved, for thus hath He, exalted be His remembrance, ordained it.

And it hath thus come to pass that that Countenance of Divinity and Vesture of Lordship hath in these days of decline left the wayfarers in the wilderness of error, and hath returned to His Lord in His throne of eternity, and the holy mirrors of His glory have ascended unto God in His lofty heights. How strange that these creatures, who came into being through a glimmer of His manifestation and became visible in the realm of existence through His bounty, should spend this brief life - whose years pass with a few manifestations, whose months change into weeks, whose weeks separate into days, and whose days resolve into hours, minutes and moments, and whose thread will soon break and whose cord will be cut - when all things shall return unto their Lord and shall be present before His holy court.

O friends of the Friend, awakened unto yourselves! O lovers of the Beloved, become ye vigilant! O seekers after Truth, be ye wholly detached! O ye who hearken unto the Word of sincerity, unseal the ear of reality and open wide the eye of insight. Let not this perishable wealth bar you from attaining the presence of the sanctified Court of the Beloved, nor let this outward glory become a veil in the path of Truth. Unclose the eye of rectitude, open the vision of integrity, and bring the hearing of uprightness into the presence of God. Suffer not for a moment yourselves to be heedless, nor squander vainly this brief span of life in aught save the good-pleasure of God.

For upon all created things a condition hath passed away. Where are now the kingdom and what they possessed, the sovereigns and what they owned? Where are the kings and the rulers? Whither have the sincere departed? Each hath returned unto his own place, and every soul unto that which it had earned -- unto that which had been inscribed for it in the scroll of the sanctified decree, upon the Tablet of eternity, from the Diwan of the Ancient of Days. They bade farewell to this mirage of the burial-ground, entered all into their own abodes, returned unto the lairs of their mortality, and sank into slumber within their chambers of dust.

Awake ye, then, for a little; hearken for an hour unto the Word of God; inscribe for a moment the counsels of truth upon the tablets of your hearts -- so that on the Day of Presentation ye may draw near unto that Tree, be admitted before His presence, and become, according to His will and desire, both receiver and doer; that ye be not veiled from the vestures of His theophany, nor struck senseless by the light of His manifestation upon the Sinai of His command. And if ye be struck senseless, yet after that swoon return ye to consciousness, and let the cry of "Forgiveness!" flow forth upon your tongues, that on that Day ye may attain, as God willeth and decreeth, unto that which He desireth, and perform that which His irrevocable ordinance hath prescribed -- standing in the station of the grace of His being, His loving-kindness, His might and His greatness, in the presence of His very Self.

In that Day act ye in truthfulness and sincerity; work ye with rightness and integrity; hear ye the verses of His Reality from the utterance of His Self-Subsisting Lordship, receive ye the Word of His majesty from the tongue of His power, and therewith glory in the Concourse on high, and be ennobled and exultant. And none can inform you like unto One all-aware; nor can any cause you to know like unto the Word of this radiant Tablet. So long as thou dost show forth a gleam within the mirror of reunion, shatter thou that mirror -- and thyself appear unto the world in splendor.

In another connection He saith: "O Sun-like Mirrors! Look ye upon the Sun of Truth. Ye, verily, depend upon it, were ye to perceive it. Ye are all as fishes, moving in the waters of the sea, veiling yourselves therefrom, and yet asking what it is on which ye depend."

That concealed Word upon which the souls of all the Messengers of God and His Chosen Ones have ever depended hath manifested itself out of the invisible world into the visible plane. No sooner had this hidden Word shone forth from the Realm of inmost being and absolute singleness to illumine the peoples of the earth than a breeze of mercy wafted therefrom, purifying all things from the stench of sin and arraying the countless forms of existence and the reality of man with the vesture of forgiveness.

Through the movement of Our Pen of glory We have, at the bidding of the omnipotent Ordainer, breathed a new life into every human frame, and instilled into every word a fresh potency. All created things proclaim the evidences of this world-wide regeneration.

Say: In this day, the fertilizing winds of the grace of God have passed over all things. Every creature hath been endowed with all the potentialities it can carry. And yet the peoples of the world have denied this grace! Every tree hath been endowed with the choicest fruits, every ocean enriched with the most luminous gems. Man, himself, hath been invested with the gifts of understanding and knowledge. The whole creation hath been made the recipient of the revelation of the All-Merciful, and the earth the repository of things inscrutable to all except God, the Truth, the Knower of things unseen.

As for the heavenly Jerusalem that hath come to rest on the summits of the world, and God's Holy of Holies, Whose banner is now lifted high, this comprehendeth within itself all the perfections, all the knowledge of the dispensations gone before. Beyond this, it heraldeth the oneness of the children of men.

He it is Who is now proclaiming from the realms above, and within the inmost essence of all created things: "I truly am God, there is none other God but Me.

… Thus hath His grace encompassed thee, and encompassed the whole of creation.

Praise be to Him Who hath made the world of being, and hath fashioned all that is, Him Who hath raised up the sincere to a station of honor and hath made the invisible world to appear on the plane of the visible--yet still, in their drunken stupor, do men wander and stray.

Praise be to Thee, O Lord! O my God! Out of Thy Bounty and Mercy, Thou hast caused the waters of existence to descend from the heaven of Thy Oneness and Thou hast caused the showers of Thine Eternal Bounties to rain down from the clouds of the heaven of Thy Mighty Oneness until, through this most mighty Beneficence, the rivers of Thy most wondrous Grace flowed forth upon the soil of all possible existent realities in Thine act of Creation. All lands and regions were watered by these streaming, heavenly rivers.

And further, all the earth's creatures require the bounty of the sun, for their very existence is dependent upon solar light and heat. Should they be deprived of the sun, they would be wiped out. This is the being with God, as referred to in the Holy Books: man must be with his Lord.

O ye who are intoxicated with the divine wine! The breeze of the All-Merciful wafts from the gardens of eternity, and the radiant morn breaks from the horizon of inner meanings, and the call to awakening reaches from the Abha Kingdom, and the nightingale of the garden of sanctity raises its cry of consciousness.

But when the Day of Manifestation comes and the flame of light blazes forth, and the fire of Sinai burns like a lamp of guidance in the niche of creation, the cloud of God's mercy rises up and the rain of the All-Merciful's bounty pours down pearls and jewels, the ancient grace is bestowed and the manifest light becomes visible.

Infinite bounties have encompassed all, and successive effulgences have unveiled themselves. The lights have illumined both East and West, and the flowers of inner meanings and divine fragrances have turned mountain and plain into rose gardens and flower beds.

The divine springtime came and infinite bounty descended. The cloud of mercy bestowed eternal grace and the Sun of Truth shone from the sign of Cancer. The realm of existence appeared like a garden in the universe.

He hath made the world a new world and graced all creation with boundless bounty.

That everlasting Beauty hath now ascended to the eternal Kingdom. That Day-Star of the realm of Divine Unity is now shrouded behind the clouds of the invisible world. Despite this, the spreading rays of His holiness shine resplendent from the wellspring of the hearts of those who embody His praise. And while the mighty Ocean is concealed in the dense clouds of the world, yet its majestic billows surge from the wellsprings of the realm of being and are visible upon the shores of existence. Thus, while hidden, He is manifest, and though wrapt in concealment, He standeth revealed above every horizon in the easts and the wests of the earth.

O thou who gazest upon the Most Great Scene!

The infinite outpourings of divine grace have encompassed the world of existence and the realm of being, and the lights of sanctification of the Glorious Lord have illumined the horizons of contingent beings.

The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.

O Bashir! The Most Great Unity hath manifested Its all-merciful effulgence, and hath made contingent existence a mirror reflecting the images of the realm beyond contingency.

The True One, exalted be His glory, created the world and its peoples through His Most Exalted Word. Thereafter He sent forth the Prophets, the Chosen Ones and the Messengers for the sole purpose of education, that they might adorn all with the attributes of the All-Merciful and enable them to attain the highest station of human existence. He is the Bestower, the Compassionate, and He is the Educator of all who dwell within the realm of possibility. His grace hath preceded all and His mercy hath encompassed all.

O thou servant who art supplicating and imploring the Abha Kingdom!

On this morn of eternity, when the lights of the Kingdom of "Be and it is" have immersed the realms of the unseen and the seen in splendor, and the Most Great Bounty hath encompassed the worlds of existence, the Sun of Reality hath shone forth from the supreme horizon at the meridian with such grace and radiance as to stir the unseen realm of contingent being into motion.

The cloud of mercy raineth down. The sun of bestowal blazeth and dazzleth. The wind of providence bloweth, and the fragrances of the Abha Paradise nourish souls in the North and South.

The grace of the Abha Kingdom shall endure forever; the divinely guided King hath established Himself upon the throne of His Kingdom; the candle of Divine guidance is revealed in all its splendour in the assemblage; the honey of purity sweeteneth the taste of the eloquent heart-ravishers; the Divine bounties are even as world-encompassing daylight; and His favours are like unto life-giving vernal showers for young and old.

The clouds of bounty are overflowing, and the outpouring of witnessed grace giveth life to both worlds. The sea of favors is surging with waves, and the waves of benevolence rise ever higher.

The Ancient Beauty hath made the world of humanity the envy of the realm of dominion through the effulgent light of His revelation and manifest bounty.

The divine Breeze is wafting by; the spirit of God is manifest, the faded hearts are quickened and rejuvenated; and the withered bodies are vivified with the stimulus of infinite beauty and utmost charm.

Turn your faces toward the rose-garden of God; for, verily, the Fragrances of the Holy Spirit are passing, Gaze ye toward the Kingdom of Abha, for His Ancient Bestowal is descending.

… For the zephyr of the morn of Unity is blowing and the rays of the Sun of Reality are shining from all the horizons of the universe with universal force.

As there are four seasons in this material world, so it is in the spiritual world. When the divine spring is over and the heavenly bounty ceases, the trees of being lie dormant. Lifelessness and stillness prevail over the world of man. People become spiritless and withered. Autumn and winter set in.

From each of the trees and flowers and leaves and fruits We heard the cry "The Kingdom is God's!"

O thou who hast turned thy face toward My horizon! The intoxication of the divine utterance hath so seized the things of that garden that every atom of its dust is engaged in wondrous and sublime songs in praise of God, exalted be His glory.

All existence is a recipient of the lights of manifestation, and the tablet of creation is traversed by the Most Exalted Pen with the signs of guidance, inscribing thereon perfect words, conclusive proofs, clear evidences and radiant demonstrations. The realities of all created things speak Thy praise, chant the verses of Thy unity, call out Thy Name and proclaim unto all ears Thy glorification and attributes.

O friends of God! Praise be to God that the divine outpouring, like the spring rain, has transformed the furnace of contingent existence into the rose garden of the placeless realm and made the dusty earth the envy of the verdant dome. It has made the world of mortality a mirror of the Kingdom and the lowest plane a surface reflecting the Supreme Concourse.

O divine friends! The infinite bounties are all-encompassing and the merciful favors are perfect. … This is why we observe that each day brings forth a new manifestation, each moment reveals waves from the sea of glory, each breath brings the dawn of confirmation's light, and each instant displays the effusion of Baha'i grace in the world of possibility.

Indeed it would be a pity if in such days one were to become dejected, for the rays of the Sun of Truth have so illumined the horizons that they are in tumult and commotion. The divine call has shaken the foundations of all regions and created an uproar in this infinite universe.

O thou who hast borrowed the light of guidance! His Holiness Moses, the Speaker with God, beheld the emanation of the light of the Divine Identity from the kindled fire in the green tree, and heard the call, saying "Verily I perceive guidance in the fire" and "Lo, I perceive a fire!" Praise be to God that that divine kindled fire hath blazed forth in the blessed tree of humanity, neither of the East nor of the West, and the soul-entrancing call of the Manifestation of Sinai hath reached the spiritual ones of East and West, and the cry of glorification and magnification hath arisen from the blessed valley.

The illumination of hearts is the radiance of the Day-Star of the horizons, and that which bestoweth life upon souls is the effulgence of the Day-Star of the Covenant. Were it not for these vernal breezes and these dawn-time zephyrs, the world would be embodied death and creation manifest darkness. The world of existence would have no grace, and the reality of being no attribute. The tree of creation would yield no fruit, and the essence of survival leave no trace.

Although in past dispensations and Cycles the power of Love had a penetration and the light of Love an appearance yet in this blessed Century the Sun of Reality has bestowed such an outpouring of Love that the human world has received another impetus and movement.

O Herald of the Covenant!

When the Beloved of all horizons shone forth from the Dawning-Place of hopes, He bestowed upon the world and its peoples a ray from the reality of sanctification. That brilliant light encompassed all perfections and conferred all bounties. Upon every atom it fell, it became a sun; upon every drop it struck, it became an ocean. Upon the crown of every ant it shone, it became a Solomon; upon the eye of every gnat it gleamed, it became a celestial eagle. Upon every land it dawned, it became a holy city; upon every region it was revealed, it became a pure Paradise of Delight.

O loved ones of God! The bestowals and outpourings of the Ancient Beauty have encompassed the kingdom of existence, both seen and unseen, like the mighty ocean. The breezes of the bounty of the Worshipped One have quickened the lands of souls, and the outpouring of the vernal clouds of grace has made the realm of hearts verdant and flourishing.

O thou who art lost in the wilderness of the love of God! In this Most Great Cycle, when the dawn of contingent being hath been illumined by the lights of the Countenance of the All-Merciful, and the waves of the Ancient Ocean have encompassed the shores of the worlds of creation, and the cloud of bounty hath gained ascendancy over the horizons of existence, and the powers of the Divine Kingdom have set all the pillars of creation in motion from every direction, and the breezes of grace have wafted from the source of bounty, and rock and clod and tree have been blessed by the favors of the Lord of destiny, and the solid rock hath been cleft asunder - the loved ones of God must needs become the signs of guidance and the standards of divine grace. They must manifest such steadfastness and strength and power in the assemblage of the world that they may transform its very structure and quicken the dead body of humankind through the divine spirit, making it a manifestation of the favors of the peerless Lord, so that the signs of bounty may become evident in all degrees of existence, and the banner of the new cycle, the new life, and the guidance of the Gracious Lord may be raised upon hills and mountains. And glory be upon thee.

O thou who art holding fast to the hem of the garment of the Glorious Lord! At the dawn of eternity, the Most Great Luminary, the Ancient Beauty, shed its radiance upon the kingdom of the world.

The ancient bounty is all-encompassing and the favor of the Generous Lord is perfect.

And the All-Merciful hath called out from the unseen realm of creation upon the summit of the Kingdom: "O people of the mortal world! Rejoice in the successive outpourings and the torrential rains and the pouring waters from the clouds of mercy and the clouds of compassion.

Exalted is the Outpourer Who hath caused a pulsing force to flow through the arteries of contingent being.

O servant of God! The infinite bounty has manifested with such radiance that it has illumined East and West with the light of reality. One effulgence from the Kingdom of the Luminary of the horizons makes the world bright and radiant, and one breath from the Abha Paradise makes East and West an eternal rose garden.

This celestial call is pure bounty and generosity, and these kindnesses are from the overflowing characteristics of the Lord of Clear Proofs upon the subtle realities of beings, which have received and continue to receive emanations from the all-encompassing Reality.

Praise be to God that in that land the life-giving breeze of holiness acts like a spring breeze, and wherever the April rain cloud passes, it bestows new life and grants boundless freshness.

O thou who gazest upon the Beauty of the All-Merciful! In these days when the lights of the Abha Kingdom have encompassed the worlds of existence, and the waves of the Most Great Sea have filled the shores of contingent beings with the pearls of divine outpourings, the candle of unity hath made the spiritual gathering-place a garden of detachment.

Shedding its effulgent rays upon the East and the West, the North and the South, and all the horizons and regions of the world, it hath, through its bounteous grace, nurtured the realities of all created things, making this world the envy of the highest paradise and this realm of possibility the dawning-place of the Supreme Heaven.

The rain of mercy bestows life upon all created things, even unto the pearls within the seashells of the sea which are connected to this boundless grace.

O pure and sanctified leaf! The favors of God, like a boundless ocean, surge over His servants and handmaidens, and like the clouds of winter, quicken and refresh the flower garden and meadow of the hearts of those who are attracted to Him.

O faithful leaf! One effulgence from the effulgences of the Ancient Beauty was the manifest Light that illumined the horizons of all regions, and one outpouring from the outpourings of the Lord, the All-Bountiful, was the mighty rain that made verdant and flourishing the hills and mountains, the plains and wilderness.

The ocean of grandeur hath been stirred by the winds that blow from the source of the supreme bounty, casting the pearls of bestowal upon the shores of hope.

O my companion! Since the day when the Ancient Ocean began its Most Great outpouring and ceaseless surging, the waves of divine bounties have stormed the shores of existence from every direction, scattering the pearls of realities and traces, and the wonders of knowledge and mysteries.

O servant of the Truth! When the light of the Absolute cast a ray upon the world of contingent beings, it illumined the human world.

The outpourings are descending like torrential rain, and the manifestations of the Abha Beauty are succeeding and following one after another from the Dayspring of the Unseen.

O servant of the Blessed Beauty, the All-Merciful! The loving-kindness and grace of the Divine Unity, and His bounty and tender mercy, encompass and pervade the entire created world like unto rain.

Thou hast caused all things to know Thee and hast caused the rivers of Thy Paradise to flow from the depths of Thy love, that Thou mightest give drink to all therein through what Thou hast created. This is Thy bounty unceasing and Thy grace unfailing to those who know Thee and seek Thy good-pleasure.

Today the Kawthar of knowledge floweth from the Pen of the All-Merciful, and the Euphrates of mercy descendeth as rain from the heaven of the chosen One's grace.

Say: By God, the Truth! There hath appeared that which hath never appeared like unto it in all creation, and verily it speaketh in all things, at all times, in every tone, saying: 'There is none other God but Me, the All-Compelling, the Mighty, the Beauteous.'

By God, the ocean of grace has surged, and the fragrance of justice has wafted, and the sun of bounty has shone forth, and the clouds of generosity rain upon all who are in existence.

Know thou that the first effulgence of the Divine Sun in the worlds of creation is His establishment upon the throne of All-Mercifulness, and from this manifestation the lights of mercy from the Sovereign of Eternity shone forth upon all contingent beings. This mercy is divided into two kinds: One kind is termed the all-encompassing mercy, the universal mercy, the all-embracing mercy, the treasured mercy, the absolute mercy, the all-surrounding mercy, and similar terms mentioned in the books of the mystics, may God sanctify their secrets and spirits. This is the mercy that giveth without being asked and bestoweth upon all contingent and created things, from beginning to end, whether hidden or manifest, more comprehensive than what is concealed or revealed.

O ye steadfast loved ones! The grace of God is beating down upon mankind, even as the rains in spring, and the rays of the manifest Light have made this earth to be the envy of heaven. But alas, the blind are deprived of this bounty, the heedless are closed off from it, the withered despair of it, the faded are dying away -- so that even as flooding waters, this endless stream of grace passeth back into its primal source in a hidden sea. Only a few receive this grace and take their share of it.

O friend! The Sun of Reality is shining and the spring cloud is pouring forth its bounties and the divine spring breezes are stirring from all directions. If any tract of land with its capacities and realities does not become verdant and flourishing in this Most Great Day, there is no doubt it will remain forever deprived of the outpourings of the All-Merciful and will grow naught but the thorns of regret and despair.

Divine guidance and compassionate favors and spiritual outpourings from the Lord are purely of the bestowals of sheer gift and absolute grant, for the essences in the shells of existence did not deserve this hidden pearl, and the manifestations of being did not and do not deserve this bounty of the Sovereign of existence.

In Baha'i philosophy, luck is the same as divine confirmation, which is ceaseless and continuous, never subject to interruption or suspension. It is not limited to some to the exclusion of others. The capacity for its manifestation must be created. Showers of divine bounty and confirmation are always falling; if any spot experiences a suspension or delay, other areas shall receive these effusions. The clouds of divine bounty bestow blessings on all. It is sanctified of exclusivity.

The infinite favors of God have encompassed all created things, and their manifestations are dependent upon their effort and endeavor.

O manifestation of God's guidance! The Sun of Guidance has shone forth from the Horizon of eternity and illumined the regions and horizons of hearts. Some received an abundant share of these outpourings and took a complete portion, while others took only a reflection in the world of names, and a great multitude of the people of the world remained deprived.

The Supreme Pen at all times summons the people of the world to the direction of the All-Merciful. However, some souls hearkened to the call of the Friend and turned toward the Beloved, while others remained deprived of the light of His countenance and forbidden from the Kawthar of immortality.

When the heavenly flood flows forth, each valley receives according to its capacity, as it is said: "We send down water from the sky, and the valleys flow according to their measure, and the flood beareth along a swelling foam.

For it is springtime and the season of the hunt, the time for plain and mountain. The Ancient Grace of the Ancient Beauty - may my spirit be sacrificed for His loved ones - pours continuously like spring rain from the Kingdom of the Unseen. In this first age of the Chosen Beauty, the divine bounty exists in its utmost power and encompasses all beings. Yet each created thing receives and benefits according to its capacity.

Some possessed a pure reality and were recipients of these universal outpourings, and like luminous crystal the heat of the Sun so influenced their essential nature that they acquired the heat of the ether. Others received but a reflection and a ray, while some were entirely deprived.

O thou spiritual person and heavenly man - may God confirm thee! Know that the divine springtime hath come with its rains and abundance, with the heat of its sun, the breeze of its life and the scent of its fragrance; and through this universal and great abundance, the land of holy truth and facts hath moved and brought forth good and beautiful fruits of every kind.

But the barren, wicked land will not bring forth save the thorn of denial, of haughtiness and disdain.

These universal outpourings which illuminate and encompass all directions, lighting up East and West - their radiance had no effect on the eyes of the blind, their sweet fragrance did not perfume any nostrils, their wondrous bounty yielded no fruit for the ignorant soul, their precious gift gave no benefit to the base person.

O divine friend! Although in all degrees the bounties of the Ancient Living One descend like torrential rain and all atoms receive their share and portion from the manifestations of the names and attributes, yet divine manifestations may be like deposited verses, which expression refers to something borrowed and transient without essence - it has no permanence and produces no universal results.

O true divine loved ones! On that dawn when the Sun of Reality shone forth from the horizon of the world upon the temples of nations, its brilliant rays illumined and enlightened East and West, and the spirit of life was breathed into the bodies of all things. … These differences in degrees of life result from differences and variations in reality, capacity and aptitude - otherwise the effulgence is one effulgence, the manifestation one manifestation, and the ray is one ray.

Thus have We rained down upon thee from the clouds of holiness that wherewith the hearts of them that are nigh unto God are refreshed. The barren earth hath no portion of this mercy that hath encompassed all created things, nor of this blessed and mighty rain that poureth down.

Although the essences of created things exist through the reflection of His light, alas they are unaware of Him and without fruit or trace.

Therefore, O seekers of the Beauty of the All-Glorious, O wayfarers on the path of the peerless King, gird up the loins of endeavor, that you may take your portion from this universal bounty and all-embracing mercy, and receive your share from this boundless ocean of the grace of the divine King of Oneness, and partake of this table of everlasting favor which has encompassed all regions and been bestowed upon all atoms of existence according to the justice of the Worshipped One.

Whatever any perfect one might say in this station is imperfect. How can the poor and weak one speak of the Ocean of Wealth? How can the helpless and indigent describe the Sea of Power? We beseech God to illumine all through the lights of the Sun of Knowledge and to cause them to attain unto the sprinkling of the Ocean of Generosity.

Its heat affects bodies and dispels the cold and moisture of the air. We hope that through the heat of the Sun of Truth which is rising and shining from the horizon of the Unseen, the cold and moisture of hearts and souls will likewise be dispelled, so that sacred realities may be set in motion and, through the heat of that Sun of the heaven of sanctification, may stir in such a way as to bring the world of being into motion and revolution.

As far as thou art able, make manifest among the peoples the mysteries of the True One, which is the eternal bounty, that thou mayest obtain the greatest talisman and seek the most honored square, and in that moment thou shalt gain mastery over the world of contingent being.

The Essence of Divinity, the Sun of Truth, shines forth upon all horizons and is spreading its rays upon all things. Each thing has some portion of that bounty, but the human reality, which combines the perfections of the mineral, the vegetable and animal, and as an additional token of grace, possesses the human perfections, is the noblest of created beings.

His Holiness the Bab hath said: "Should a tiny ant desire in this day to be possessed of such power as to be able to unravel the abstrusest and most bewildering passages of the Qur'an, its wish will no doubt be fulfilled, inasmuch as the mystery of eternal might vibrates within the innermost being of all created things."

Christ was a divine mercy which shone upon all mankind, the medium for the descent of the bounty of God, and the bounty of God is transcendent, unrestricted, universal.

All creatures are dependent upon God, however great may seem their knowledge, power and independence.

Physically and spiritually we are submerged in the sea of God's favor. He has provided our foods, drink and other requirements; His favors encompass us from all directions.

The first is the love that flows from God to man; it consists of the inexhaustible graces, the Divine effulgence and heavenly illumination. Through this love the world of being receives life. Through this love man is endowed with physical existence, until, through the breath of the Holy Spirit -- this same love -- he receives eternal life and becomes the image of the Living God. This love is the origin of all the love in the world of creation.

The Grace of the Abha Kingdom has surrounded the Dominion of Existence and the Rays of the Realm On High have illuminated and brightened the World of Possibilities and Placelessness. The Waves of the Greatest Sea have quenched the thirsty shores of Creation, scattering far and wide the Pearls of Knowledge and Wisdom.

The portals of His abundant grace have opened wide through the sustaining breaths of the Holy Spirit. The fragrant breezes of His life-giving bounty bringeth solace to the heart and comfort to the yearning.

However, when the confirmations of the All-Merciful and the assistance of the Eternal shine forth in human reality, this becomes a source of glory and brings joy.

O ye friends of God! In this merciful cycle, through the grace of God, the drop hath been united with the surging sea and the lowliest of atoms hath attained the summit of grandeur. The feeble birds of the lowest abyss have ascended to the heaven of Mercy and the dejected souls have stepped forth confidently with the power of Divine assistance, beneath the shelter of His Word.

O ye friends of 'Abdu'l-Baha!

Whatever meeting is held to celebrate the memory of the Abha Beauty and to listen to the recital of the divine utterances is indeed a rose-garden of the Kingdom; that gathering is strengthened by the reviving breaths of holiness that waft from the unseen world, inasmuch as the outpourings of divine grace are the light of that gathering and in it the effulgent splendours of His mercy are made manifest.

The dawning-places of creation are illumined by the lights of their beauty, and both the East and West of contingent being have become a rose-garden and flower-field through the outpourings of their perfection.

Likewise the divine qualities that were manifested from that Dawning-Place of heavenly bounties - those qualities too are the heavenly sustenance of the Incomparable Lord.

By God the True One, every seed that is sown in this glorious age will be made to grow by God through the bounty of His clouds of mercy which preceded all contingent things, and from which and through which all existing things were awakened and issued forth, and unto which they shall return.

Then know thou that at the time when thou didst advance toward God, thou wast created anew from the water of the spirit. Beware lest thou mention this clear water as mean - the first was ordained for the former ones, and the second for whoso advanceth toward the Dayspring that was luminous with the lights of the Countenance.

The bounties of the Abha Kingdom are the same as the rays of Sun of Truth: they illumine earth and heaven, they transform a small star into a shining luminary, and they change an atom into a mountain. They give strength to the weak and healing to the sick; they confer heavenly treasures upon the poor and raise the lowly to ranks of eternal honour. They enable those in darkness to become enlightened.

Thou didst water it from the rivers of Thy oneness flowing in Thy verdant Garden, and caused the breezes wafting from Thy most exalted Kingdom to pass over it. Thou didst shine upon it with the Sun of Thy Reality, the Most Luminous, and nurture it through the power, radiance and heat emanating from Thy Most Great, Most Glorious Luminary.

We look not to ourselves but rather turn our gaze to the favors and bestowals of the Ancient Beauty, for His aid and grace can transform a weak bird into an eagle of the Supreme Concourse and an insignificant atom into a star of the ethereal sphere.

O thou who art enamored of truth! Human reality is a divine trust, and the human world represents its natural emanations. That divine trust is a brilliant light, while these natural emanations are the darkness of the furnace.

The Glory of the Sun of Truth penetrates all regions.

… The rays of the Sun of Truth are illuminating you.

Strive with heart and soul that the Heavenly Light may descend upon all people and that through it every heart may be enlightened and that the spirit of the human race may partake of Its glory.

O esteemed Chief! Scientists hold that no substance in the earthly sphere moves and travels as swiftly as the electric current, and its power is intense. But they know nothing of the swiftness and power of the divine current. The movement and flow of that current requires time, but the surge and motion of this current is not bound by time or duration at all. In less than the twinkling of an eye it reaches from the lowest realm to the highest realm, and likewise instantly travels from the highest realm to the lowest. Its wire is the knowledge of God and its components are the love of God. Its force and penetration set the worlds in motion and its influence endures forever.

Therefore, O Chief, install one end of the wire in the center of the heart and extend and connect the other end to the highest realm, so that the current of inspiration may continuously express the wisdom of the All-Merciful. And upon you be greetings and praise.

It was once a gnat and it is now an eagle. It was once a sparrow and now it hath become a falcon rising into the azure skies of divine attraction.

If these bounties are realised and we are granted the grace of the one true God and His loving providence, a feeble ant could raise the banner of sovereignty in the kingdom of Sheba. Even a will o the wisp mosquito could spread its wings as wide as a mighty buzzard!

When the rays of His all-merciful Self appear unclouded by this contingent world, the essence of transcendant sanctity is made manifest. And when the signs of His singleness shine through the spiritual lamps of illumined souls, the reality of His attributes become evident for all to see.

He hath caused us to reach the summit of heaven from the darksome pit in which we were. He hath enabled us to attain the apex of the realm of the Concourse from the nadir of our degradation.

O thou who art the wooer of the Beloved the Regions!

As soon as the Sun of Truth dawned in the East of Eternity, its rays like unto the lightening of the early morn, brightened and illumined this vast palace of immensity. Pure and transparent souls, which were clear from the rest of matter, immediately became enlightened and luminous and reflected the lights upon the world of contingent beings.

Today all created things are growing and moving through the outpourings of the Most Great Name, and are drawing sustenance and being stirred.

Know that every mighty matter in the world of existence has a center, and the outpouring emanates from that center. For example, in the solar system, the sun is the center of light. Likewise, pure love has a true center, and that center has now appeared in this world and the lights of love are shining forth from that center to all horizons.

Praise be to Him Who has shone forth and appeared, Who has manifested Himself and spoken, Who has ordained and made possible, Who has permitted and allowed every luminous essence and divine reality to receive the outpouring from the rain-clouds of His mercy, to roar like lions in the thickets of His bounty, to swim like fish in the pools of His grace, and to warble like nightingales in the gardens of His loving-kindness.

In such case the branch corresponds to the root in all conditions and circumstances, and the part accords with the whole in all degrees and mysteries. Then it becomes manifest, clear as the sun at high noon, that grace extends its effects perpetually, and that the light emanating from the Sun of Reality illumines both stars and moons.

O Sign of the Kingdom!

A ray from the manifestation of the Ever-Living, the All-Powerful, struck the sun and it became world-illumining. It struck the ethereal star and it became a luminous moon. It struck the black stone and it became a brilliant diamond and [a gleaming ruby].

Love is an outpour from God, and is pure spirit. It is one aspect of the Logos, the Holy Spirit. It is the immediate cause of the laws which govern nature, the endless verities of nature which science has uncovered.

In the Koran it is said: 'They love Him and He loves them'--i. e., the bounty of love is one of the Divine bounties which comes to man from God; just as the sun when it sends its rays to the mirrors and thereby the mirrors are illumined; this effulgence and splendor are from the bounty of the sun.

Look at the earth. Of itself it is worthless, yet it can reflect the light and heat of the sun. Clouds gather, the rains descend, and the earth becomes fruitful. In the same way the Spirit of God gives life to the soul of man, and the Breeze of God awakens the soul from its sleep.

Again there is the giver of the bounty, the receiver of the bounty and the bounty which is the Holy Spirit.

O servant! Give thanks unto God for having manifested Himself unto thee yet again, that He might reveal unto thee the mysteries in the crystalline vesture within the Most Glorious Temple.

As for the passage in the Iqan, it explains that those holy souls continuously receive outpourings and assistance from the Reality of Divinity and the All-Glorious Essence.

O thou whose insight God hath opened through the light of His knowledge among all peoples! Know thou that the Ocean of Grandeur is surging, overflowing, rolling and ebbing from the Most Glorious Horizon, casting forth brilliant stars and radiant pearls from the Most Great Outpourings upon the hearts of the faithful, scattering them upon the hem of the spirits of the chosen ones and the breast of the pious.

These are trees planted in the garden of Thy love, growing on the banks of the rivers of Thy bounty, verdant and fresh through the outpourings of the clouds of Thy guidance.

O you who receive bounty from the Kingdom of Abha! Though the outpouring of spring rain may adorn meadow and plain and make mountain and valley verdant, the heavenly outpouring and the rain of divine mercy adorns the life-giving expanse of heart and soul and makes joyous the world of the heart and its countenance.

Since the Divine Reality has manifestations of brilliant signs and traces in all worlds and stations, therefore in the world of archetypes and spiritual realities He made human reality the niche and glass for the light of Truth and manifested all names and attributes upon it.

O friends of 'Abdu'l-Baha! The universe is in endless progress, and the world of contingent beings is the dawning-place of the lights of the All-Merciful's bounty. … The Farmer of Divine Providence has scattered the seeds of reality in the field of existence and watered them with eternal bounty.

O Lord! He drew sustenance from Thy perfect outpouring, Thy all-encompassing grace, and Thy radiant light, and his soul found peace in the rays of Thy countenance spread across the horizons on the Day of Radiance.

Thus it is observed that through the grace of the Most Glorious Beauty (may my spirit be sacrificed for His loved ones), the ocean of wealth is surging and the spirit of affluence is in tumult. The freely-given treasure flows like a flowing stream, spreading everywhere, and the wealth of the Most Glorious Kingdom pours forth and descends upon the horizons of heart and soul. … Ancient outpourings are like a surging sea and the lights of the All-Merciful like a brilliant star.

And if thou asketh about the infinite bounties of the Abha Kingdom, it is the outpouring of the limitless all-encompassing sea.

If His outpourings until now came from all directions, now His bestowals are sanctified from directions. And if His lights before shone forth from the point of the circle of existence, now they are manifest from the entire circumference.

The earth and what is therein are imaginations or reflections in mirrors or shades; but the bounty of the Kingdom and the gifts of the invisible world are the thoughts of the Merciful One, and the lordly radiances are immortal and constant and unending.

I swear by the Divine Beauty that the bounty of the Most Glorious Beauty makes the barren tree fruitful and leafy, fills the world of darkness with light, makes the earthly bird celestial, and transforms the dusty being into one that is heavenly and merciful.

In the world of creation, this exalted station and lofty throne is the Most Great All-Embracing Reality - that is, the receiving of lights from the Lamp of Truth and the acquiring of fire from the Tree of Oneness.

Dost thou not observe how the spring rain giveth life to the black earth, and maketh the withered tree green and flourishing? Nay more, it maketh the pure earth the envy of the heavens.

O rose adorned and blossoming in the gardens of the love of God! The springtime has come, and the lofty clouds have poured down their copious rain upon both noble and lowly alike. The breezes of God have wafted over the gardens of earth and heaven with a new spirit, and the heat of the Sun of Truth has intensified upon every goodly plant and graceful tree growing in blessed soil from every clime.

O My dearly loved friend! When the light of the Morn of Divine guidance flasheth and glisteneth from the horizon of truth, the radiant heart of man partaketh of it through the Divine light, the lamp of His bounty beameth forth and sheddeth the light of Oneness, the fire of love is kindled and consumeth the souls of men.

Know thou that His grace and generosity is a boundless ocean, surging with waves that submerge all created things in that tempestuous, billowing sea and cast forth the pearls of bestowal upon the shores of the hearts of the faithful.

O faithful leaf! If a candle illumines a gathering, the light of the Kingdom illumines the horizons. That is, when an effusion from the effusions of the Ancient Beauty is manifested in a reality, it moves the contingent world and bestows joy and delight upon the horizons.

Even as inherent light is among the special characteristics of the sun and not the moons, the effulgent knowledge which is among the attributes of the All-Merciful's grace shines forth in the heart of the noblest of men, like unto the luminous moon whose rays and radiance derive from the light emanating from the sun.

God has created all things wisely and with a purpose. For everything He has ordered a heaven and a hell; its heaven is its place of high degree-of fulness, maturity, and perfection; its hell is its place of low degree - of meagreness, immaturity, imperfection.

The Mercy of the Blessed Perfection is like a seed in the heart. The Sower puts the seed into the ground so that it may come up and bear fruit. The ignorant man asks why a little seed is put into the ground. This is a purpose which the end or result alone shows.

The divine bounties are likened to water. He says We send down water from heaven. Rivers and streams flow according to their measure and capacity.

Question: "If the spirit is free from place, then what is in us which receives the Light?"

Answer: "The Bounty of God is within the heart; it receives the Light."

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit changes the small acorn into an over-shadowing tree and the showers of the heavenly clouds of mercy transform the black soil into a delectable rose-garden.

Originally a Mu'tazilite himself, like his famous contemporary and colleague, ar-Razi, his studies on the theory of knowledge led him more and more into the Kingdom of God (Malakut-i-Allah).

… Ar-Razi is also a precursor of the Babi-Baha'i Teachings, in that he, as the first researcher, represented the Creator as well as the creation in the category of light: Our reason is light of the Light of God. Everything spiritual is a reflection of the Light of God. The creation is an emanation of light of the eternal Light.

And another station is the station from the Truth to the Truth, and that consists of manifestations which are in essence and for their own sake, wherein Beauty is attracted to its own Self and enkindled with its own love. The example of this station in the outer world is like unto the ocean which is, in essence and for its own sake, surging and in motion. It possesses conditions and degrees within its own essence.

And another station is that of the effusion of rain, which is the station of outpouring from the Truth to creation.

"The seas moved"—the seas of existence; the seas of life; the seas of sciences; the seas of knowledge; the seas of understanding; the Seas of the Love of GOD rolled.

All things at all times are speaking, yet ears are deprived of hearing them.

O Muhammad-Quli! Every created thing hath had and still hath a fragrance peculiar unto itself, and that fragrance is, in one sense, a messenger, inasmuch as it guideth men unto it.

For they know not what Thou hast ordained for them by virtue of Thy mercy that encompasseth the whole of creation.

O my God! Thou art He Who, through the outpourings of Thy bounty and the showers of the clouds of Thy mercy, hast created, brought into being, and called forth luminous, divine realities and celestial, eternal essences. Thou hast nurtured them in the realms of Thy holiness by Thy fostering hand, raised them up through Thy pure favor, caused them to spring forth from the Tree of Thy oneness, and brought them forth from the Lote-Tree of Thy unity.

O my God! Thy mercy hath preceded all things, Thy bounty hath been perfected, and Thy power hath encompassed all things. Thou didst create creation through an outpouring that encompasseth the realities of existence, and Thou didst bring forth the first creation through the dawning of the lights of guidance. Through these Thou didst manifest Thyself upon the subtle realities that were prepared for these outpourings, until they received abundance and became illumined, and were purified and refined through the signs of Thy oneness whose effects are manifest and brilliant.

Praised be to He Who hath breathed life into His creation through the breaths of those who bow down in worship in His first emanation!

And again Thou art as the bountiful clouds raining from above the hills, mountains, deserts, rugged grounds and lowlands. Thus, it is vibrated, revived and verdant from this bounty.

At other times, Thou art as the infinite ocean whose abounding grace hath flooded all creation, in such wise that the billowing waves thereof have cast upon the sands their shining pearls Whereas the billows of this rising ocean, casteth the brilliant precious gems and the brilliant maidens, rather the unique inerrant on the shores of the hearts and souls.

Thus did the earth of realities quiver and swell with the waters of revelation descending from the heaven of the Revealer, bringing forth every goodly kind.

All this is from the mines of Thy bounty, the treasuries of Thy grace, the wonders of Thy favor, the keys of Thy mercy, and the springs of Thy generosity.

O Lord! Deny me not the sweet-scented breezes of the garment of Thy Revelation, the fragrant emanations of the robe of Thy mercy, and Thy signs through which the winds of Thy grace pass.

The clouds of the heaven of Thy bounty have rained their rain on this City within whose walls is imprisoned Him Whose desire is the salvation of Thy creatures. Through it the soil of this City hath been decked forth, and its trees clothed with foliage, and its inhabitants gladdened.

Thou didst send the winds of love from the right hand of Thy will and cause the rains of providence to descend from the clouds of the bounty of Thy generosity, and didst mix this living, life-giving sweet water with this holy, luminous earth.

Roll not up, O my Lord, what hath been spread out in Thy name, and extinguish not the lamp which Thine own fire hath lit. Withhold not, O my Lord, the water that is life indeed from running down --the water from whose murmuring the wondrous melodies which extol and glorify Thee can be heard.

The breezes of the All-Merciful have wafted from the direction of the Ridvan, and souls have been stirred by their stirring.

Say: By God! This is a Day whereon the breezes of the All-Merciful have wafted, and the fragrance of musk hath been diffused from this glorious station.

O my Lord, my God, and my Beloved!

I beseech Thee by the wafting of the breezes of Thy grace whereby Thou didst quicken all created things and caused them to speak forth Thy praise, and didst bring forth all beings and shed upon them the lights of Thy countenance, that Thou wilt not, in this springtime, deprive me of the garment of Thy grace and favors, nor leave me distant from the paradise of Thy reunion and meeting.

Through Thee have I detached myself, through Thee have I become enriched in Thy presence, through Thee have I sought aid in all things, through Thee have I become mighty over all things, through Thee have I become honored above all things, through Thee have I become exalted above all things, through Thee have I become illumined over all things, through Thee have I become glorified above all things, through Thee have I become beautified above all things, through Thee have I become magnified above all things, through Thee have I become greater than all things, through Thee have I become merciful to all things, through Thee have I become powerful over all things, through Thee have I become knowledgeable of all things, through Thee have I encompassed all things, through Thee have I answered all things, through Thee have I become noble above all things, through Thee have I become sovereign over all things, through Thee have I become master over all things, through Thee have I become attracted to all things, through Thee have I become transcendent above all things, through Thee have I become generous to all things, through Thee have I become firm in all things, through Thee have I become victorious over all things, through Thee have I become mighty over all things, and through Thee have I found repose in every condition and at every moment.

Through them have gushed forth the springs of divinity, and the Lote-Tree of concealment hath put forth leaves, and the camphor-like leaf hath yielded fruit. Through them hath the Essence of divinity been established upon the throne of eternity, and the Dove hath warbled in the sanctified Temple, and the lights of morn have dawned from the Sun of the Divine Essence in glorified form.

This is a mention from Us to him whose letter was present before the Face, that the mention of the All-Merciful may draw him to a station wherein his very atoms testify that the gate of heaven hath been opened and the Lord of Names hath come with a sovereignty that hath encompassed all in creation.

From My Most Exalted Pen there hath flowed forth in thy name the Euphrates of mercy and knowledge.

Thou art He Who created me and sustained me until Thou didst honor me with Thy days wherein the Sun of Thy loving-kindness dawned from the horizon of Thy Will and was established upon the throne of Thy mercy, and Thou didst open the gate of attainment unto Thy presence before the face of all who dwell in Thy earth and Thy heaven, and didst call all unto Thyself, and didst attract all through Thy signs.

In the Name of God, the All-Earthly, the All-Earthly

Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I and all things bear witness that Thou art God, that there is no God but Thee, alone, without peer or partner. Thine is the kingdom and the dominion, Thine the might and the power, Thine the strength and divinity, Thine the force and sovereignty, Thine the glory and majesty, Thine the countenance and perfection, Thine the beauty and grace, Thine the paragon and similitude, Thine the station and glorification, Thine the mercy and bounty, Thine the sovereignty and justice, Thine the grandeur and independence, Thine the greatness and exaltation, Thine the glory and invincibility, Thine the power and ascendancy, Thine the joy and gladness, Thine the station and detachment, and Thine is whatsoever Thou hast loved or wilt love in the kingdom of Thy heaven and earth.

Thou art the First, O my God, and naught existeth before Thee; Thou art the Last, O my Beloved, and naught existeth after Thee; Thou art the Manifest, O my Desired One, and naught existeth above Thee; and Thou art the Hidden, O my Adored One, and naught existeth beneath Thee. Thou hast ever been one God, single, eternal, self-subsisting, living, self-sustaining. Thou hast taken neither consort nor offspring, nor hast Thou had any partner in Thy creation or any protector in what Thou hast fashioned. By Thy power hast Thou created all things and ordained them according to Thy decree, and by Thy will hast Thou formed the creation of all things and shaped them according to Thy wisdom.

Thine is the praise eternally, and Thine the glory everlastingly. Thou dost ever give life and cause death, then cause death and give life, and verily Thou art the Ever-Living Who dieth not, the Sovereign Who passeth not away, the King Who changeth not, the Just Who deviateth not, the One from Whose grasp nothing escapeth, whether in the heavens or on the earth or between them. Verily, Thou art powerful over all things.

Praise be unto Thee, O my God, for having created me and sustained me, for having caused me to die and brought me to life, and for having raised me up, believing in Thee and Thy signs, assured of what Thou hast ordained through Thy words. Thou hast ever been from time immemorial, and wilt ever continue to be from time immemorial. Thou didst create me by Thy command from a beginning that hath no beginning to an end that hath no end, and didst rear me in the worlds of Command and creation, and preserve me in the kingdom of heaven and earth, until Thou didst cause the drop of my physical being to descend from the heaven of Thy good-pleasure to the earth of Thy nature, and didst nurture me through Thy generosity, grace, bounty, tenderness and favor until I reached that stage of life wherein thirty years had passed, if I count not the days of my concealment in the veil of Thy glory, and otherwise it would be more than that.

How many splendors hast Thou bestowed upon me, yet I have not praised Thee as Thou deservest! How many majesties hast Thou conferred upon me, yet I have not thanked Thee as is Thy due! How many beauties hast Thou granted me, yet I have not extolled Thee as befitteth Thy praise! How many grandeurs hast Thou bestowed upon me, yet I have not mentioned Thy glorification as it behooveth Thee! How many lights hast Thou shed upon me, yet I have not turned to Thee as Thou art worthy! Glory be unto Thee! Glory be unto Thee! Thy blessings are greater than my heart or the hearts of all the worlds can reckon, and Thy bounties are vaster than my knowledge or the knowledge of any...

Glorified and exalted art Thou! I have not known Thee except through what beseemeth Thine Own Self in Thy Divinity, Thy Lordship, Thy Oneness, Thy Unity, Thy Singleness, Thy Eternity, Thy Sovereignty, Thy Self-Subsistence, and that which Thou art in Thy Names that none can reckon save Thee, and in Thy attributes that none can comprehend save Thee. I have not witnessed from myself except that which I am ashamed to mention, and I know no way except to sanctify Thee beyond all that hath sanctified Thee or may sanctify Thee, to glorify Thee beyond all that hath glorified Thee or may glorify Thee, to testify to Thy unity beyond all that hath testified to Thy unity or may testify to Thy unity, to magnify Thee beyond all that hath magnified Thee or may magnify Thee, and to exalt Thee beyond all that hath exalted Thee or may exalt Thee.

For verily, I am but a thing among Thy creation which Thou didst create out of nothing by Thy command. I was not mentioned before thirty years ago, nor shall I continue to live and exist beyond what Thou hast ordained for me. Therefore, O my Lord, have mercy upon me between the two clays, and forgive what Thou hast witnessed from me between the two remembrances, and turn unto me in what I have done between the two inanimate objects. For my spirit none can comprehend save Thee, and verily it hath ever been as Thou art and shall ever be as Thou shalt be. But what appeareth in that world is as Thou hast caused me to witness - Thou didst begin me from exalted clay and shall return me to noble clay. Therefore, O my Lord, raise up from me between the two clays that which befitteth the loftiness of Thy sanctity and the sublimity of Thy glory. For all of me is through Thee and from Thee and unto Thee and to Thee alone, there is no God but Thee. Remember me, O my Lord, as Thou hast never ceased and shall never cease to remember me, and if I remember Thee it is because Thou rememberest me from before the suns of Thy countenance on the Day of Resurrection through tablets from them, even though I was veiled.

By Thy might, I seek refuge in Thee from that, but since [...] Thy creation [...] and they are veiled, therefore I [...] through Thee and beseech Thee to remember me [...] remember Thee, and to forgive me though I seek not Thy forgiveness, and to turn unto me though I turn not unto Thee, and to raise me up through Thy remembrance though I distance myself from Thee through my limitations, and to make me content with Thee though I am not content with myself in my veiling, for none can comprehend the knowledge of Thy measures in Thy manifestations save Thee. Thou hast ever been, O my God, standing over all things, powerful over all things, knowing all things, mighty over all things, and supreme above all things. I know not, O my God, whether to thank Thee on this night - the night of the Lam - for my father or for my mother or for myself or for those who have nurtured me through Thee.

Glorified and exalted art Thou! None besides Thee possesseth remembrance or sublimity, nor beneath Thee is there any possessed of nobility or glory. Should any of Thy creatures attain unto good, that is from Thee alone, there is no God but Thee, and should [...] other than that, it is from Thy creation when I loved it not, it was not attributed to Thee, else all are within Thy grasp and [...] Thy evidence. Therefore, O my God, do Thou now send down upon [...] from Thy glory its most glorious, from Thy majesty its most majestic, from Thy beauty its most beautiful, from Thy grandeur its most grand, and from all Thy lights the most luminous, and of Thy mercy the most expansive, and of Thy words the most perfect, and of Thy names the greatest, and of Thy might the most powerful, and of Thy will the most compelling, and of Thy utterance the most pleasing, and of Thy causes the most beloved by Thee and most noble before Thee, and of Thy honor the most honorable, and of Thy sovereignty the most enduring, and of Thy dominion the most glorious, and of Thy exaltation the most elevated, and of Thy favors the most ancient, and of Thy signs the most wondrous, and of Thy manifestations the most manifest, and of Thy revelations the most sublime, and of Thy attributes the most impregnable, and of Thy generosity the most generous, and of Thy grace the most gracious, and of Thy gifts [...] and of Thy sustenance the most abundant, and of Thy bestowals the greatest, and of Thy [...] the mightiest, and of all that Thou art in Thy names and Thy likenesses that which hath no equal, no peer, no similitude, no companion, and no likeness.

Thou hast ever been and wilt ever be bountiful to the dwellers of Thy kingdom and magnanimous to those in the dominion of Thy earth and heaven of Thy will. Thou hast ever been [...] over all contingent things, manifest above all existing things, transcendent above all created things, exalted above all atoms, inaccessible above all who are in the kingdom of earth and heavens, sovereign over all who are in the kingdom of names and attributes, supremely ruling over all parables and allusions, and omnipotent over all that hath been or will be created by signs and scriptures.

There is none beside Thee, O my God, who createth aught that I may glorify, nor any besides Thee who sustaineth aught that I may praise, nor any save Thee who causeth death that I may testify to His oneness, nor any besides Thee who giveth life that I may magnify. Nay, all are manifestations of Thy deed, dawning-places of Thy command, channels of the gates of Thy grace, and daysprings of the effulgence of Thy glory. Therefore, O my God, do Thou send down at this moment upon him who guideth unto Thee, and verily he is of Thee, and he is for Thee, and returneth unto Thee, that which Thou art in Thy sublimity, Thy transcendence, Thy glory, Thy loftiness, Thy inaccessibility, Thy might, Thy majesty, Thy sovereignty, and Thy power. For all, O my God, worship Thee, glorify Thee, sanctify Thee, testify to Thy oneness, magnify Thee, extol Thee, and prostrate themselves before Thee, taking pride in this. Yet all are veiled from the station of Thy revelation and remote from the seat of Thy rearing. Therefore, O my God, do Thou send down from Thy presence a sovereign sign and a conquering dominion that shall leave none upon the earth but shall cause them to enter Thy religion, give them to drink of the wine of Thy love and Thy sanctification, and show them Thy grace and Thy glorification, whether they be pleased or displeased, for none knoweth their good save from Thee, but Thou seest the good of all Thy creation and lovest to bestow it upon them through Thy grace.

How excellent art Thou, O my God, and how near unto Thy creation! How generous art Thou, O my Beloved, and how merciful to Thy servants! It behooveth none to be mentioned save Thyself, yet through the sublimity of Thy generosity and the transcendence of Thy grace, Thou dost mention Thy Messenger and the guides to Thyself, and what Thou seest for Thy creation from the path of Thy Cause, that all may mention Thee. Otherwise, none would have any existence before Thy mention. Glorified art Thou! There is no God but Thee. Thou hast ever been renowned for might and majesty, and wilt ever be celebrated for grandeur and beauty. Glorified and exalted art Thou! In every aspect Thou hast been described with greatness and independence, and in every mention Thou art praised in power [...] Thou art the One existing before all things, the Fashioner of all things, the Being above all things, and the Essence after... O God! Thou art exalted above all things, and naught escapeth Thy knowledge, whether in the heavens or on the earth or between them. Nothing in the kingdom of command or of creation or whatsoever lieth beneath them can frustrate Thee. Grant us, O Lord, every good thing encompassed by Thy knowledge, and preserve us, O Lord, from all that is not good, which Thy knowledge encompasseth. Verily, Thou art powerful and mighty over that. And do Thou send down, O Lord, upon those who have entered beneath the shadow of the Bayan, and before that were [...] in the Furqan, through Thy grace and beneficence, Thy bounty and favor. Verily, Thou art the King, the Powerful, the Mighty, the Exalted Sovereign.

The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.

O Abul-Qasim! We have brought forth for thee from the ocean of inner meanings the pearl of remembrance and utterance, that thou mayest give thanks unto thy Lord, the Lord of all religions.

O My loved ones in Ali Riza Abad! The Most Great Sea hath turned toward you, desiring to adorn the heart of your heart and the sight of your sight with My wisdom and utterance which lay hidden within its shells.

I beseech Thee by Thy Books and Thy Messengers, whom Thou didst send to manifest Thy Cause and exalt Thy Word - through whom the ocean of Thy knowledge surged amidst Thy creation and the fragrance of Thy loving-kindness wafted throughout Thy dominion - to ordain for me that which shall profit me in every world of Thy worlds.

Thus have We wafted unto thee a breath from the breezes of the All-Merciful that thou mayest inhale the fragrance of the Most Merciful and say: Praise be unto Thee, O Lord of all mankind.

And this is but a drop from the oceans of Thy Self-Subsistence and an outpouring from the rains of Thy sanctity, that the sovereignty of Thy power might be manifested in the kingdom of identities and the dominion of Thy might might shine forth in the realm of infinitude.

I beseech Thee by the oneness which Thou hast made the garment of Thy Self, and by the eternity which Thou hast made the ornament of Thy temple, that Thou mayest, through Thy Name the All-Giving, take up a chalice of the water of life and, through Thy Name the All-Bountiful, pass it round among all contingent beings.

The meaning of this declaration is that the mercy of God encircles all mankind, that not a single individual is deprived of the mercy of God, and no soul is denied the resplendent bestowals of God. The whole human race is submerged in the sea of the mercy of the Lord, and we are all the sheep of the one divine Shepherd.

We must be like rain which falls on the stone, or cultivated ground and on the sea. Because the favor of Baha'u'llah is assisting all.. should reach all. It is a sun which shines upon all, a sea which casts waves upon all sides of the shore; a cool breeze which blows to all nations. Man must be like that.

However, there are degrees for human deeds and virtues: there is a deed whose benefit returns to the person himself, another deed whose fruit returns to his family or his people and tribe. But there is a deed whose benefit and fruit returns to all the people of the world, and its results are unlimited and its effects endure as long as the world of existence endures.

Every deed that appeareth today purely for the sake of God is the king of deeds, and every goodly attribute that is manifested by anyone is and shall be the sovereign of attributes, inasmuch as this Day is associated with God, exalted be His glory.

On this luminous morn the divine tongue of utterance speaketh forth this radiant word: O peoples of the earth! Hold fast unto that which will lead to the elimination of differences, that all parties may attain unto true tranquility and perpetual rest. The appearance of the Manifestations hath been and is the cause and instrument of unity, yet ignorant souls have made it a cause of discord. Say: O people of the earth! Hearken unto the Word of Truth and hold fast unto it....

The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.

He bestowed the warmth of bounty, from which the fire of love was set in motion and made manifest, and it became the cause of joining and connection. He bound the East to the West and united the West to the East. He guided the people of paradise to paradise and led the companions of heaven to heaven.

When the lights of love shone forth from the Truth unto creation, His greatest signs were imprinted upon pure and luminous hearts, and the mirrors of hearts faced one another and reflected that manifest light. Thus did love appear from creation unto creation.

Just at this time this light speaks with thine eye; the sun converses with the earth. In addresses it: 'I am most kind toward thee. I am pouring my rays upon thee. I am training thee. I am causing in thee the growth of flowers and hyacinths.' In turn the earth says to the sun: 'I am in need of thy favors. Were it not for thy beneficent rays my surface would not have been adorned with the roses and carnations. Pour then thy bestowals uninterruptedly upon me.'

All the saplings of the world have appeared from one Tree, and all the drops from one Ocean, and all beings owe their existence to one Being.

Question: Is the essence of the material creation the Spirit of God? Answer: No, it is not the Spirit of God, but it is the Bounty of God. It is not a part of God for it is His creation.

Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified

This is the Mercy that hath encompassed the entire creation, the Day whereon the grace of God hath permeated and pervaded all things.

Catalogue reference: BH01231 · passage alignment is approximate; supplied wording retained.

So the great light abides and shines, and its radiance goes out through the world in rational order and proportion...

Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified

Sentence boundary needs source review; the supplied wording is retained.

...in reality, Nature is no other than the 'breath of the Merciful' [al-nafas al-rahmaniy]. All the forms of the world become manifest in the latter, ranging from the highest forms to the lowest, in virtue of the spreading of the 'breath' through the material substance of the world of physical bodies in particular. The 'breath' spreads also through the Being of the spirits of a luminous nature and the attributes. But that is another kind of the spreading of the 'breath'. ...the Divine breath acts as the Prime Matter in relation to the forms of the world. And (the Divine breath in this capacity) is precisely what we call Nature.

Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified

Sentence boundary needs source review; the supplied wording is retained.