(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- AB11278)
The image of God: a dignity waiting to become visible
human reality created in the image of God
Editorial introduction
Before anything existed, Bahá’u’lláh writes, God knew His love for us; that is why He created us, engraved His image upon us and revealed His beauty to us. Everything else about human dignity follows from that act of love. The image is not a bodily likeness, since the divine Essence has no form; it is the capacity to reflect knowledge, mercy, justice and generosity, the way a polished mirror receives the sun without containing it. Every soul is pure at birth, and within the handful of dust from which we are made lies a pearl bright enough to light East and West. Yet the image is a calling as much as an endowment: it becomes visible through education, through the mind’s power to penetrate abstract realities, through a second birth into love of God, and through conduct, and a person can also throw this nobility into the abyss and become a prisoner of his own ego. The harsh contrasts with animal existence belong to that moral argument, not to any denial of a person’s worth. Genesis gives the words that are interpreted here, image and likeness, blessing and responsibility within the living world [1]. The journey leads onward to the soul as a mirror, to the divine attributes hidden within all things, and to the spiritual transformation by which an inward possibility becomes a gift to others.
Selected passages
(Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words - Arabic, 1274 ca. [1857-1858] -- BH00386)
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Sarih Khanum sister of Baha'u'llah -- BH00690)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at 8th St Temple Synagogue on 1912-Nov-08 -- ABU0002)
And when it says "Let us create man in Our image" - what is meant is the image of the divine names and attributes, as the Divine Essence is sanctified from material forms and is exalted above and free from similitudes and likenesses.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to a Rabbi, spoken at Emery home on 1912-Dec-04 -- ABU2591)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1902 ca., to Charles Mason Remey -- AB00398)
You are made in the image and likeness of God. Your birthright is more valuable than all the treasures of the empires.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Mrs Stannard -- ABU0686)
Even though the human being is created from a handful of dust, He has deposited within this shell a pearl of infinite brightness and luminosity whose rays are capable of illuminating East and West.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Murvarid mother of Mihraban and Surush et al -- AB10472)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1910-Jan-22, to Taid School of Hamadan -- AB06380)
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.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1915-Feb-09 -- AB11515)
Man is created in the Image of the Lord of Mercy, that is, Divine Character. Physical likeness is mortal; merciful characteristics are immortal. Spirit is the Grace of God. Body is an earthly compound. Therefore strive ye to adorn yourselves with the Image of the Lord of Mercy.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1915-Apr-24, to Herr Julius Rothschild -- AB11116)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Address to NAACP convention, Handel Hall in Chicago, 1912-Apr-30 -- ABU0573)
What is the meaning of the image and likeness of God? It means that man will become the manifester of the names and attributes of the Deity; it means that all the perfections and luminosities of the Divine will shine upon the mirror of human beings.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the Baha'is, spoken a 780 West End (Kinney home) on 1912-Nov-26 -- ABU0447)
This is what is meant where it is written in the Bible that 'We have created man in our own image.' The perfect man is the visage and image of God, just as the mirror reflects the sun.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Interview with a prominent Rabbi, ca. May. 1912 -- ABU0089)
At all times I implore the divine Kingdom to make your heart a pure, delicate, polished mirror facing the Abha Kingdom so that the images of the Supreme Concourse may be reflected in it. This is the meaning of the verse in the Torah "Let us create man in our image, after our likeness."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908 or <, to Margaret B Peeke -- AB01212)
O thou true believer! The reality of man is a niche of light and a glass of revelation. When this reality gaineth freshness, beauty and purity; the effulgence of the lamp of divine guidance and the gracefulness and purity of the glass of capacity are interconnected and the truth of "Light upon Light" will be manifest and recognised.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- AB11194)
O friends of the Blessed Beauty! When the Peerless Lord shone forth from the horizon of "no-place" upon the people of contingent existence, He made the human temple His sacred throne and made the human horizon the dawning-place of His manifest light.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- AB12097)
O thou plant in the Garden of the Kingdom!
God created man in the utmost perfection, for He inscribed the edict of the divine likeness on his brow.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1916 or < -- AB09553)
He created man in the finest mold and with a noble form and majestic temple among the infinite forms in the realm of being.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1910-Feb-25, to Qaini, Muhammad Ali et al -- AB05455)
O Mu'tamin of 'Abdu'l-Baha! The Supreme Lord has deposited within human reality a most great sign. Some proved trustworthy and preserved this divine trust with the utmost effort and protection, while others proved ungrateful and betrayed the trust - that is, they squandered that gift.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Mutamanas-Saltanih Sabzivari Mustashar Daftar -- AB06355)
O thou who speaketh the praise of God!
In the essence of man, the hand of divine bestowal hath deposited a gift whereby man may become the dawning-place of the verses of the All-Merciful, and human reality may acquire illumination from the Dayspring of Oneness, and the essence of Adam may become the light-giving lamp of the world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Jalal son of Ali Naqi (Isfahan) -- AB05309)
O my God, Thou hast created creation in countless different ranks and stations, and from among all existence Thou hast chosen the human reality, which encompasses the mysteries of contingent being and proclaims the divine truth in the world of creation. Thou hast distinguished it from all other existence through the outpouring of divine vision, the hidden secret, and the protected symbol, making it a pure mirror reflecting the mysteries of what was and what will be.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Relatives of Ismullah -- AB00978)
Consider carefully until you perceive the proof which the All-Merciful has revealed in the Qur'an: "He created man, taught him clear expression." This clear expression refers to the radiant reality and hidden mysteries deposited within human reality.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1912 ca., to Aqa Mirza Qurban-Ali -- AB00102)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 59, Man's Comprehension of God, 1904 ca. -- AB00395)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address to International Peace Forum, spoken at Grace Methodist Church on 1912-May-12 -- ABU0016)
When in the course of evolution the stage of thought and reason has been reached, the human mind acts as a mirror reflecting the glory of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Myron Phelps and Madame Canavarro in Dec. 1902 -- ABU0343)
God created in us a divine holy spirit,--the human spirit with its intellectual powers which are above the powers of nature. By this he enjoys the ecstasies of the spirit and sees the world illumined.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1912-Aug-20 in Green Acre -- ABU0162)
It is written in the Bible: let us create man in our image and likeness. What does this mean? It means that the Reality of Divinity is the universal Collective Center of all the consummate Virtues. Now, the primal Intelligence - God - willed to create man and make him a "particular collective center" of all his own infinite virtues.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Mrs Moore, spoken at Baltimore Hotel on 1913-May-18 -- ABU0303)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given on 1912-Aug-17 -- ABU0572)
Then man will make real discoveries, penetrate the mysteries and so reflect them that he will become the image of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- ABU1801)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 3, The Need for an Educator, 1904-Jun ca. -- AB00081)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1897-Feb-07, to Baha'is of Rasht -- AB00322)
Q. [What is the spiritual life?]
A. Characterize thyself with the characteristics of God, and thou shalt know the spiritual life!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken in 1910 -- ABU3586)
O thou who art enkindled with the fire of the love of God!
Man, who is the sign of the All-Merciful and the manifestation of the favors of the Lord God, must seek with his soul and strive with his body and strength and tread the path of the free ones, so that he may become the dawning-place of light and the recipient of inspiration and inner meanings from the All-Forgiving Lord.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Fadlullah brother of Abdu'l-Husayn -- AB07108)
I hope that this may be so, meaning that the loved ones of God may conduct themselves according to the teachings, counsels and exhortations of Baha'u'llah, so that the lights of the Kingdom may be reflected in the mirror of the human world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1914-Aug ca., to Gertrude G Richardson -- AB07234)
Yea, this fruit is the knowing God and love for God, and reliance upon God and is the virtue with which the reality of man is adorned, and it is the perfections which are the great gift for the child of Adam (i.e., mankind) in this first creation.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1916 or < -- AB09125)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1911-Nov-23 in Paris -- ABU0665)
That everlasting palace is the reality of man which reality is indestructible. Therefore I am searching throughout the world to find men and women in which the divine palace is completed.
In the heart of every man and woman the construction of this heavenly palace is going on. Praiseworthy deeds and philanthropic actions are the materials with which the palace is built. Vices and the degeneracy of morality are the axes with which the very foundation of this eternal palace laid by the hand of God is uprooted.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Mr Frosell and his brother, spoken at Ritz Hotel on 1913-Apr-11 in Budapest -- ABU1870)
God manifested His Love by creating man in His Own Image. Man must manifest the Love of God by developing it in that Image.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Mary MacNutt et al in 1904 -- ABU2768)
Fix your gaze upon and make mention of this blessed word which hath shone forth from the horizon of the mouth of the King of Oneness: "I was in My Ancient Being and My Eternal Essence; I knew My love in thee, therefore I created thee, cast upon thee My image and revealed to thee My beauty."
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1298-10 [1881-Aug], to friends of God -- BH00359)
But the Almighty fashioned man in his own image and likeness for the [sake] of His Love, for drawing the lights of divine virtues, for the manifestation of the celestial power, for the appearance of the efficacy of the Holy Spirit and for the projection of the ideals names and qualities of Divinity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Pleiades Sylvan Bower, Alhammeh near Tiberias, 1914-May-10 -- ABU1560)
He accepted all tribulations so that souls might become heavenly angels, seek divine characteristics, desire the Most Great Peace, be confirmed by the breaths of the Holy Spirit, so that the divine trust deposited in human reality might become manifest, human souls might become manifestations of divine favors, and humankind might attain, as stated in the Torah, the image and likeness of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at the Emery home on 1912-Apr-18 -- ABU0223)
The Old Testament says that God created man like unto His own image; in the Qur'an it says: "There is no difference in the Creation of God!"
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken in Sep. 1911 in London -- ABU1891)
Every being has one reality, except for man who has both a natural reality and a spiritual reality.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1913-Jan-24 in Paris -- ABU3022)
Though all human beings are adorned with the garment of humanity, they remain unaware of its reality. This universal gift is manifested in human reality, yet man remains heedless and forgetful.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Aug-21, to Muhammad Baqir Khan from Isfahan -- AB05610)
Notwithstanding these evident proofs, how heedless is man that he worships nature and considers himself its slave. Nevertheless, these individuals regard themselves as great philosophers. Gracious God! How heedless this is, how blind, that man should be unaware of the life of the Almighty and remain uninformed of the divine trust deposited within himself, and should be a captive of the world of nature.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Grand Hotel in Cincinnati, 1912-Nov-04 -- ABU0255)
Now, however much a person may progress materially, if they are deprived of the eternal grace--that is, the spirit of faith--they have merely advanced to the highest rank of the animal kingdom and cannot be called human. For humans are made in the divine image, as it is stated in the Torah: "Let us create man in our image, after our likeness." Thus it is established that the true human bears the divine image and likeness, meaning they receive all divine perfections.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1911-Nov-02 in Paris -- ABU0179)
This is why in the blessed verse He says: "We created man in the best of forms, then reduced him to the lowest of the low," but if he gains freedom from this snare and finds relief from this ailment, he becomes a manifestation of "except those who believe and do good works," becomes a dawning-place of bounties, and a dayspring of the lights of "God created Adam in His image and likeness" - that is, he becomes a divine image and a manifestation of heavenly bounties.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Baha'is of Tihran -- AB00146)
God created man after His own image and likeness ... but now, behaving contrarily, man has become more merciless and fearless than rapacious beasts.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to a reporter from the Bulletin, spoken on 1912-Oct-04 -- ABU1979)
God has created man in His own image and likeness and endowed him with reasoning faculty, intellectual powers and cognitive sense. He has kneaded his original constitution with the water of holiness and sanctity; He has destined for him a life of celestial freedom, measureless and boundless; He has ordained for him the indefinable state of Blessedness; He has decreed for him the loftiest height of spirituality and illumination: and yet he causes himself to be thrown into the abyss of darkness, becomes a prisoner of his own ego, degrading his noble nature to the station of the beasts, polluting his ideals with baseness and despicability and depriving himself of the Graces of the Almighty.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the friends, spoken on 1915-Feb-05 -- ABU0812)
God has created man in a high position, he is distinguished from all other creatures; is created in God's image, but man leaves this majestic gift and great station to run away and play with the dust of the Earth.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Lua Getsinger in 1904 -- ABU2885)
On the other hand, although man was created in the image and likeness of God and was destined to become the perfect, clear mirror, reflecting the rays of divinity he prayed from the depth of his heart: 'O Lord! We are sinners.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to pilgrims, spoken on 1914-Apr-23 -- ABU1228)
It is through the Love of God, the Knowledge of God, the spiritual susceptibilities, and the attractions of the heart.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Pleiades Sylvan Bower, Alhammeh near Tiberias, 1914-May-10 -- ABU2011)
The Almighty has destined for him eternal life, spiritual existence, the perfections of the divine world and the virtues of the celestial realm.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to two Persians, spoken at Baltimore Hotel on 1913-May-18 -- ABU2385)
But I will tell you God has created man after His own image; therefore He has created his condition to be divine, and his real happiness, cheerfulness, wealth, dominion and power, must all be of divine origin, and if he will turn always to the Kingdom he will be in happiness and contentment.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Madam J, spoken on 1904-Apr-15 -- ABU1711)
They must become radiant beings, shining stars, luminous persons and angels of heaven.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Rue St. Didier 30 in Paris, 1913-Feb-09 -- ABU2614)
When God created Adam he made for him a physical body, which is the material aspect of man, but he also conferred upon Adam his own image and likeness, for it is recorded in the Bible that man was made in the image and likeness of God. This signifies the divine attributes, not the outward form or figure. The divine image and likeness signifies the attributes and names of God, the virtues of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1912-Oct-25 in Sacramento -- ABU0751)
and among them are those who have turned towards it and hastened and said: "Here am I, O Lord of Names! I testify that Thou wert hidden in God's knowledge and inscribed in His perspicuous Book."
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1300-03-29 [1883-Feb-7], to Mulla Muhammad Husayn -- BH05228)
How has a particle of clay attained to a station Thou hast made Thine own self, and Thou hast removed all distinction between it and Thyself, as though it were Thee?
(The Báb, Ziyarat li-Avvali man aman, 1265 mid-late [1848-1849] -- BB00058)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:27
All are the creatures of God and He has created them after His form and likeness; that is to say, after the form and likeness of the Manifestations of His names and His attributes. From the spiritual point of view, therefore, there is no difference between women and men.
TAB.090
Continue exploring
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- What difference does it make to understand the divine image as qualities and capacities rather than physical resemblance?
- How do these passages hold together an inherent human dignity and the need for moral growth?
- What do the mirror, pearl, and palace images each reveal about potential and responsibility?
- What becomes clearer when Genesis is read beside the interpretations offered in this compilation?
- How could recognizing divine possibilities in another person change education, friendship, or public life?
- Which connected subject would help you explore the movement from knowing one’s worth to expressing it in action?