(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Mount Morris Baptist Church on 1912-May-26 -- ABU0095)
The mystery of sacrifice: a life that gives life
sacrifice of self; mystery of sacrifice
Editorial introduction
Sacrifice sounds like loss until one asks what it makes possible. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá teaches that what must be given up is the tangle of blameworthy qualities, not life itself, which is to be kept alive in praise and service. What fills the emptied place is mercy, kindness, forgiveness and the power to give life to other spirits. His images carry the paradox: iron in fire takes on the fire’s qualities, a candle spends itself in light, and a seed, like the grain of wheat in John’s Gospel [1], loses its form so that a whole tree can appear. Paul’s living offering [2] shows how a life with its particular abilities becomes such a gift, and the Qur’anic account of Abraham and his son [3] keeps trial and ransom in view. The practice is as ordinary as nursing a sick friend or yielding a cherished opinion for unity’s sake, and as costly as lives remembered under persecution. From here the way runs through detachment, through tests and trials, and on to the sacrifice of the Manifestation of God that gives the world life.
Selected passages
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903-Dec-26, to Alma Knobloch -- AB01895)
Furthermore, regarding what thou didst mention about sacrificing thy life in the path of the Beloved, this was presented before the Throne. He said: If thou keepest thy life alive through His praise, this would be closer to righteousness in the sight of God today and will continue to be so, for perchance through thy mention others may be reminded of the wondrous ways of remembering Him. Therefore, preserve thy life with the utmost tenderness that it may ever be occupied with His remembrance, and if the time for sacrificing life should come, it will assuredly be offered up.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Shams-i-Jahan -- BH11706)
O maid-servant of God! The mystery of sacrifice is that man should sacrifice all his conditions for the divine station of God. The station of God is mercy, kindness, forgiveness, sacrifice, favor, grace and giving life to the spirits and lighting the fire of His love in the hearts and arteries.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Lillian James -- AB02144)
In this day service at the sacred Threshold of the Blessed Beauty and steadfastness in the Cause of His love is the real sacrifice of the self.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Ruqiyyih Sultan Yazdi -- AB09180)
Say: Sacrifice them, O people, in My path - this is the true sacrifice in the love of the All-Merciful, which none comprehend save the sincere ones.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier -- BH05876)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903-Oct-24, to Beecher, Ellen V et al -- AB01189)
The mystery of "Ransom" (or Sacrifice) is a most great subject and is inexhaustible.
Briefly it is as follows: The moth is a sacrifice to the candle. The spring is a sacrifice to the thirsty one. The sincere lover is a sacrifice to the loved one and the longing one is a sacrifice to the beloved.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906 ca., to Foster, L Wilson et al -- AB01550)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Chapter 29, Sin and Atonement, 1904 ca. -- AB00096)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Public address given at Kinney home on 1912-Nov-29 -- ABU0139)
The Manifestations of God are likened unto the seeds. They contain all the perfections of the tree, but you can not see them until the tree grows up. The Blessed Lote-tree grew up from a single seed, yet all of the perfections and virtues which existed in the seed were not manifest until the seed sacrificed itself (its identity), that the tree might become apparent. The branches, leaves, flowers, fruit of the tree are only matter, but the perfection hidden in the seed has given to them color, fragrance and delicious taste.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Alma Albertson et al, spoken on 1900-Nov-24 -- ABU0808)
"Christ sacrificed Himself, as the seed, becoming as nothing. He produced millions of beautiful trees with their leaves, blossoms, and fruit. The leaves, blossoms, and fruit are manifestations of the perfections that were in the seed, so the disciples became the manifestations of the perfections that were in Christ."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Helen Goodall and Ella Cooper spoken in Jan. 1908 -- ABU0848)
For example, consider a growing tree--the sun shines upon it, the rain falls and the breezes blow upon it. Then, by the grace and power of God the earth gives its strength to the tree and it lives and grows. The tree then gives this power, which it receives from the earth to the branches twigs and leaves, which flourish and in time it gives its power to make blossoms and fruit to appear upon them. So our Lord Christ gives His perfections and graces which He receives from God to the people, to make them grow to be strong and live and He keeps nothing back for Himself.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to E.J. Rosenberg et al, spoken around Feb. 1901 -- ABU1460)
When man dedicates his life to a cause, he must dedicate entirely, then he is really dedicated. It is not through word, but through deed. One must dedicate his life completely, fully, in reality, just as the dead branch sacrifices its life to the fire, and just as the oil sacrifices its life to give light. This is the great station--the station of sacrifice. There is no greater station than this.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1912-Oct-22 in San Francisco -- ABU1014)
O thou who art illumined by the light of divine bounty!
The attributes of generosity, of munificence and magnanimity can only be manifested in the reality of man when he ariseth to sacrifice himself in the path of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Muhammad Javad Isfahani -- AB10074)
As to the zodiac of the stations of the Sun of Truth, it is the station of the attainment of the mystery of sacrifice, whereupon the lights of love, harmony and salvation shine forth and the manifestation of firmness dawns, in a cause unendurable by the lofty mountains.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1916 or < -- AB03064)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Haft Vadi (The Seven Valleys), to Shaykh Muhiyid-Din Judge of Khaniqayn et al -- BH00047)
One must sacrifice one's all in seeking the truth and become evanescent in its path so that one might obtain a portion from this ocean and be enlightened by a ray from its sun. This is what befits the truly wise and the discerning.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Jul-27, to Mary M Rabb -- AB03452)
Yet this is most evident, that the beauty of the spirit and its worth lie in its being spent in the path of the Friend. Blessed is the soul that spendeth and the Friend accepteth. Since the eye of the heart remaineth veiled by the veils of self and desire, it hath therefore been deprived of perceiving this station. Were a soul to gaze with the most pure vision, it would gladly sacrifice a hundred thousand lives.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Varaqatul-Firdaws et al -- BH00997)
O thou faithful one!
One of the requirements of faithfulness is that thou mayest sacrifice thyself and, in the divine path, close thine eye to every pleasure and strive with all thy soul that thou mayest disappear and be lost, like unto a drop, in the ocean of the love of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906-Nov-14, to E W Gannett (Alma Knobloch?) -- AB11425)
Sacrifice your will to the Will of God. The Kingdom is attained by the one who forgets self. Everything becomes yours by Renunciation of everything.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Julia Grundy spoken around Jan. 1905 -- ABU1867)
When a person is truly sacrificial, then he thoroughly forgets himself, dedicates his all in the path of the Blessed Beauty and arises in servitude in His love. No exultation and delight can ever be greater than this.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the friends, spoken on 1915-Apr-11 -- ABU0921)
Now, what would the ordinary intellect say? Preserve your life! Preserve your property! But he who is set on fire with God's love will forego all possessions. On such occasions his actions appear insane; but he is in a sacrificial state. Honor, glory, everything pertaining to himself, is sacrificed.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Dodge home in New York, 1912-Apr-16 -- ABU0341)
'What! Art thou so attached to thy donkey that thou canst not leave it behind, while I have left everything, palace, villages, comfort and wealth? Hast thou not yet learned the lesson of severance?'
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the friends, spoken around 1915-Jan-30 -- ABU0450)
The thing we hold most dear is the thing to give. This is real sacrifice.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Julia Grundy spoken around Jan. 1905 -- ABU3054)
He must live for ever in the station of sacrifice and be ready to forgo all his material conditions. That is why it is so difficult, extremely difficult.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the minister of the New Congregational Church, spoken on 1913-Jan-13 -- ABU2612)
The Beloved One answered: "The condition of Faith requires that man ascend to and abide in the station of sacrifice. Without this attainment, one faith is not perfect. The believers must soar towards the summit of self-sacrifice.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Pleiades Sylvan Bower, Alhammeh near Tiberias, 1914-May-14 -- ABU1937)
Sacrifice of life is of two kinds. To be killed for the Cause is not so difficult as to live for it in absolute obedience to the commands of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken in Aug. 1913 in Ramleh -- ABU2531)
O thou lamp of the Love of God!
Thou hast made the wish for the great martyrdom in the path of Baha, that thou mayest become intoxicated with that overflowing cup and sacrifice this ephemeral life upon the divine altar, in order that thou mayest walk in the road of faithfulness and show forth firmness and steadfastness for the sake of the love of Baha.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906 ca., to Margaret M Sprague -- AB07465)
This station is the mystery of sacrifice, whether outwardly realized or not - the essential thing is to arise to this station.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Mashhadi Yusuf Milani -- AB07945)
Not a single drop from the ocean of sincerity can be tasted, nor a breath of fragrant air inhaled from the rosegarden of the All Glorious without this level of sacrifice. O ye true friends! Be kind to each other, therefore in heart and soul! Be sacrificing in the path of love towards each other so that ye may be acceptable in the threshold of the One True God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1893 ca., to Baha'is of Ishqabad -- AB02335)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to several Baha'is, spoken at 309 W 78th St on 1912-Jul-01 -- ABU1888)
Every soul of the beloved ones must honor the others, and withhold not his possessions and life from them, and by all means he must endeavor to make the others joyous and happy. But the others (the recipients of such love) must also be disinterested and life-sacrificing.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- ABU2692)
Continually this Servant expects that every one of the believers open his tongue in the commendation of all the friends; nay rather they may adore each other and sacrifice their wealth, comfort, life and spirit for the sake of each other.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1913-Sep-26 -- AB05001)
Another commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another even as I love you. Great mercy and blessings are promised to the peoples of your land, but on one condition: that their hearts are filled with the fire of love, that they live in perfect kindness and harmony like one soul in different bodies. If they fail in this condition the great blessings will be deferred.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to May Maxwell et al, spoken around 1898-Feb-25 -- ABU1702)
If ye desire nearness to the threshold of the One God, ye must acquire the character of a single being, become as one spirit and one heart. Let each sacrifice himself for the other, that joy may be attained and heavenly delight made manifest.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Qaini, Ahmad son of Nabil-i-Qain et al -- AB08340)
O two radiant servants of the Most Glorious Beauty! You truly exerted the utmost effort on behalf of his honor Afnan, and this brought joy to 'Abdu'l-Baha, for the loved ones of God must sacrifice their lives for one another and prefer others' good to their own benefit.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906 ca., to Mirza Muhammad Rida (Shiraz) et al -- AB05178)
The wandering led to distress, and the restlessness caused illness. He became sick and weak, separated and without remedy, until those loving friends inquired after his condition and sought his comfort and ease.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Muayyid, Muhammad Husayin Mirza the Prince et al -- AB04033)
O Lord! He risked his life and soul when the fires of pestilence blazed forth and a searing, fetid wind blew upon the dwelling-place of Thy Most Luminous, Most Exalted Beauty. O Lord! He forsook comfort and ease, tranquility and repose, and found no rest morning or night. He plunged into the depths of hardship and arose to serve humanity, to protect the loved ones and associates, nay rather to safeguard all creatures in that furthermost shore.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Muhammad Husayin Mirza the Prince Muayyid -- AB00058)
So devotedly did he tend to Mr Sprague - forgoing sleep and sustenance, and ever remaining by his side - that Mr Sprague's illness infected Kay-Khusraw. Mr Sprague recovered, while Kay-Khusraw fell sick and eventually succumbed to his disease.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at dinner hosted by a Rajput prince in London, 1913-Jan-19 -- ABU3113)
O relatives and connections of that wise one! His Holiness Kaykhusraw showed lordliness, demonstrated faithfulness, displayed nobility and manifested greatness in all that constitutes the teachings of the Blessed Beauty and the counsels and exhortations of the Most Great Name. Indeed, he sacrificed his soul for Prague and offered his body as an oblation for the friends.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1905 ca., to Relatives of Kaykhusraw Parsi -- AB01705)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Najjar, Shukrullah et al -- AB05586)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Diya'iyyih Khanum daughter of Abdu'l-Baha -- AB10007)
This desire of thine is an indication of firmness and steadfastness in the Covenant, and is worthy of commendation and praise. But 'Abdu'l-Baha too entertaineth a similar hope, which is that he should sacrifice himself for the loved ones, and, in devotion to the friends, hasten to lay down his life on the altar of love.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-May-31+, to Ali-Akbar Rawhani Muhibulsultan -- AB01001)
Would that every calamity might rain upon `Abdu'l-Baha in this way that he could become a ransom for the suffering of the friends of the Ancient Beauty.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1901 or <, to Muhsin Milani -- AB05697)
Once a Baha'i was mistaken for his friend and arrested. He said nothing, hoping to bear the punishment for his friend. But the friend, when he heard of it, immediately gave himself up and released the wrongfully accused one. Another Baha'i was condemned to die and his friends went and begged that one of them be put to death instead.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Waite, Harrison et al, spoken on 1909-Oct-13 -- ABU1929)
If any occasion befalleth and cases of tests come up, they will sacrifice their precious lives for the sake of the friends and freely give all their possessions.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1907-Aug ca., to Florence Breed Khan -- AB01956)
And this bounty is yours because you preferred another over yourself, as it is stated in the Qur'an: "and prefer others before themselves."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906 ca., to Muhammad Usku'i -- AB08561)
Where are those souls of whom He says "and give them preference over themselves, even though poverty be their own lot"? And where are those souls who act for God's sake and turn to God?
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1303-01 [1885-Oct], to Aqa Mirza Maqsud -- BH01190)
On the contrary man should be willing to accept hardships for himself in order that others may be happy... This is characteristic of man, this is becoming to man...
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1912-Sep-03 in Montreal -- ABU1527)
When Mohamad was living one day his son-in-law Ali, his wife and his two sons kept fast. … Ali gave them all the four loaves of bread. All the four continued to fast next day without eating anything meanwhile. Four other loaves were prepared and they were again given away to a number of orphans who called right in time. The sun rose on the third day and they continued to fast without eating anything. They have now prepared for the third time four loaves of bread and just before eating, a few strangers passed by the house and the loaves were given unto them.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the friends, spoken at Baltimore Hotel on 1913-May-23 -- ABU1566)
Try to sacrifice something for the believers. Do not keep away from them, but give up everything you have.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Mr and Mrs Kinney et al, spoken on 1909-Aug-22 -- ABU0811)
He had been especially touched by the gifts of some children in America who had saved car fares by walking and given the money to the Temple fund.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Mr and Mrs Hannen, spoken on 1909-Feb-22 -- ABU1785)
Thou didst request leave to journey to Zanjan, that thou mightest raise a wall round about the plot of land attributed to Jinab-i-Hujjat---may the spirit of all existence be a sacrifice unto him---and that, to the extent of thy ability, thou wouldst bear the expense, that it may become a Mashriqu'l-Adhkar. This purpose is indeed most acceptable. Would that 'Abdu'l-Baha possessed freedom, that he himself might carry the clay and labour in the building of that wall.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Qazvini, Ahmad brother of Ghulamhusayn -- AB07251)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words regarding the Shrine of the Bab -- ABU3553)
Regarding the sale of the house and its use for the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar - truly you have shown outstanding resolve, and it is certain that this will be accepted, desired and beloved at the Divine Threshold. This righteous deed brought great joy, that the handmaidens of the All-Merciful are so self-sacrificing and are among those who sacrifice their wealth and lives. And upon you be greetings and praise.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906-Jul-15, to Siyyid Sadiq -- AB05551)
O Mirza! If thine eye should oppose thee in what God hath commanded, pluck it out; if thy rib should oppose thee, divorce it; if thy brother, abandon him, holding fast to the cord of God's commandments, the Lord of the mighty throne.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307-07-15 [1890-Mar-7], to Aqa Siyyid Mirza Afnan son of Siyyid Hasan Afnan Kabir, et al -- BH00735)
O Khadijah! Reflect upon Khadijah of a former time. Neither wealth nor property, neither blame nor persecution prevented her from God. She sacrificed her life and gave freely of her wealth.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307 ? [1889-1890], to Amatullah Sahib et al -- BH03155)
This loss and damage that has befallen you was in the path of God, not due to ignorance, deficiency or carelessness. Therefore you must be grateful and content that the storms and tempests of events have not scattered this sand to the wind; rather, in truth, it has gone in the path of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1921-Jul-19, to Isma'il brother of Karbala'i Muhammad -- AB04666)
Would that thou possessed a myriad castles and lofty mansions, mighty palaces and edifices, so that every day one were destroyed in the path of the Best-Beloved.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Aqa Muhammad Hashim -- AB04701)
O thou who art renowned throughout all the world for thy madness (in the love of God)! Praise be to God that in the path of the love of God thou didst allow thy house to be burned, sacrificing it that thou mightest become famous throughout the world and renowned throughout all regions, and become known in East and West for thy servitude at the Holy Threshold, notorious among both high and low.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1901 or < -- AB08538)
To sacrifice life and wealth, glory and possessions in the path of God is among the greatest of divine confirmations and the most mighty of heavenly reinforcements, for this station is the rank of complete sacrifice which is the highest aspiration of God's chosen ones.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- AB08151)
People have come to realize that in unity there lies strength; in concentration of purpose there is power; and in self-sacrifice there is growth and development. Just as we are often ready to sacrifice our possessions, our wealth, and our lives for the sake of truth, we must likewise be willing to sacrifice our opinions and ideas, if we know that such a thing will bring about unity and accord.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- ABU2808)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1911-Nov-08 in Paris -- ABU0984)
Thou hadst written that we strive to make the friends in Spokane self-sacrificing. We hope that each and every one of the friends may become self-sacrificing and make others self-sacrificing as well. Until one becomes self-sacrificing in the path of God, no fruit will be gathered from life. Such a life would be like that of a mineral, like a fruitless tree. A tree must bear fruit.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Jul-20, to John Wolcott -- AB01382)
O dear one! That which causes the brow to shine with manifest light is to arise with utmost strength in this mighty Cause and to sacrifice oneself in the path of the Lord of mercy and compassion.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Mirza Yusuf Khan Shirazi (Lisanul-Hudur) -- AB04681)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Plaza Hotel in Chicago, 1912-May-02 -- ABU0540)
We desire to have teachers in this Cause who sacrifice all their belongings, possessions, heart, life and spirit to the Cause of God. This will be very effective. The Cause must be promulgated with devotion and personal sacrifice and not through financial operations."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1913-Sep-18 in Ramleh -- ABU2322)
In any case, we hope that all may arise in utter selflessness and complete detachment, in utmost supplication and prayer, in complete humility and lowliness, to serve at His Sacred Threshold, and through this spiritual power remain firm and steadfast in His Cause until our last breath. This is the ultimate goal of our hopes.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the believers, spoken on 1913-Dec-29 -- ABU0592)
In reality she is attracted and will bear every calamity and trial in the path of the Blessed Perfection and this very thing will be conducive to her spiritual development.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906 ca., to Aseyeh Wellesca Dyar -- AB02954)
Praise be to God, thou art free and prosperous, and day by day thou art increasing in the love of God, and for the purpose of teaching thou art wandering throughout the regions, homeless and without settled abode. This is the very essence of divine bounty and the bejewelled crown of everlasting sovereignty and ascension to the eternal throne.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Dec-16, to Abdu'llah Mutlaq -- AB08681)
Truly you are a wanderer in the path of God and without home or shelter, but this homelessness is better and sweeter than any home and shelter, for this yields results and bears fruit, while no home or shelter remains or bears fruit.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1921-Oct-22, to Abdu'l-Husayn Tafti (Avarih) -- AB12171)
You wrote about the difficulty of affairs for the teachers. The state of Christ's apostles is known - when teachers live in utmost difficulty, it has a profound effect on seeking souls.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Jul-28, to Ibn-i-Abhar -- AB11655)
Indeed your absence causes hardship for your relations, but since it is in the path of the Lord it causes no harm, rather it is a bounty itself.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Hand of the Cause Ali Muhammad Ibn Asdaq -- AB01363)
To sacrifice one's life in this station is the greatest gift in the human world and the cause of nearness to the Threshold of the Lord.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1907 ca., to Jamshid Khudadad Farsi -- AB04314)
Until now, surely twenty thousand people have hastened to the field of sacrifice in promoting these teachings of Baha'u'llah and have sacrificed life and property. Every undertaking advances through sacrifice of life, not through the exchange of general ideas.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1913 ca., to Dunlop, Chair of Int'l Theosophical Summer School -- AB01146)
Baha'u'llah has assured us that this Cause will transcend every difficulty and will rise above every persecution but this condition will not be realized except through the self-sacrifice and infinite wisdom of believers of God ...
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1914-Jul-09 in Haifa -- ABU0418)
We must rescue the world of humanity from all dangers that threaten it and sacrifice our own comfort for our Divine Beloved. … This transitory existence and this temporary, illusory comfort must be devoted to the service of the Cause and be made a sacrifice unto its altar. Anything else is utter loss. This dead shrub must be sacrificed for that luscious Lote-Tree and this insignificant drop must be offered for the waves of His Ocean.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the friends spoken in Dec. 1907 -- ABU2427)
When I heard this allegation of his, I wrote detailed responses, including this: "I am not gathering armies of war, rather I am preparing the field of sacrifice.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on board the SS Celtic at sea, 1912-Dec-11 -- ABU1167)
Consider that giving one's life in this battle is finding life - Christ waged battle upon the cross and at the moment of sacrificing His life was victorious over kings and subjects.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Hotel Marquardt in Stuttgart, 1913-Apr-26 -- ABU2542)
Therefore we, who are enamored of the face of the Beloved and distracted by those perfumed tresses, how must we sacrifice our lives and through such sacrifice attain to joy? For we strive in the path of the One True God, and attain life everlasting and seek eternal glory. We have raised a banner that shall not be reversed, and we cherish a hope that none shall be disappointed.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1905 ca., to Nasrullah Khan et al -- AB01638)
Given this, how can we rest for a moment, find patience and composure, show negligence, or let slip the opportunity? Now is the time to forget ourselves, become intoxicated with the spirit of sacrifice, and rejoice, that we may attain to success in the Kingdom of holiness.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Amidul-Atibba, Aqa Mirza Yahya Kalimi et al -- AB02150)
Pure souls have never been concerned with their own comfort and ease. Rather, solely for the enlightenment of all, they have forsaken sweetness and endured the sting.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Hasan Tafrishi -- AB03792)
So be present, that you may carry this heavy load in perfect joy and delight like this servant, and become the target of the taunts, curses, abuse, charges of unbelief and immorality, and doubts of the nations, so that you may receive a drop from the ocean of tribulations of the Ancient Beauty, may my spirit be sacrificed for His servants.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Nasrullah Baqiruf -- AB03411)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Kitab-i-Iqan (The Book of Certitude), 1278 ca. [1861-1862], to Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad, great uncle of the Bab (Khal-i-Akbar) -- BH00002)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1905-Jan-03, to Baha'is of the United States et al -- AB00027)
If thou wilt look with the eye of truth, thou wilt see that all stations and conditions in this fleeting world are places of sacrifice, yet the sacrifices differ - one becomes a sacrifice to disease, another a sacrifice to aversion, another a sacrifice to earthly affairs.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1894 ca., to Darvish Isma'il -- AB06796)
See, how for the sake of a trifling gain, people subject themselves to terrible difficulties and suffering and trial, though it gives them no result or benefit whatever. This is the consequence of exerting one's self to gain the things of this world. But such is not the case in the Cause of God: for whoever takes a single step or endures the least hardship for the sake of God, it will never be lost or prove fruitless.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to pilgrims in June 1906 -- ABU0746)
Consider how they gloried in sacrificing themselves for a piece of earth, and how much more one should pride himself in sacrificing for the Lord of Hosts!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the friends spoken in Dec. 1907 -- ABU0824)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1893 ca. -- AB01594)
However much you may wail and cry out, and seek to sacrifice your life in the path of that Kind Beloved, it is fitting and worthy.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Hurmuzdyar Haq Pazhuh -- AB03796)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Ali Akbar Nakhjavani -- AB03404)
I swear by the Resplendent Beauty that self-sacrifice in His path is sweet, not the pursuit of pleasure.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1893 ca., to Haji Husayn Farashahi -- AB05575)
Thou shouldst pray fervently and beseech confirmations from the Sacred Threshold that thou mayest succeed in meeting the prerequisites of divine love. That spirit which is not offered up in the path of the Best Beloved is not spirit, but water and clay; it is not gain, but loss; it is not life, but death.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1904 ca., to Aqa Ali Arbab Isfahani -- AB06771)
Were the people of the world to become aware, as they ought to be, of this divine bestowal that hath appeared in the assemblage of existence, thou wouldst witness hosts of lovers hastening to the altar of sacrifice, clapping their hands and dancing with joy.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1897 ca., to Mulla Amir Khan -- AB08529)
I swear by the Sun of utterance which shineth from the horizon of the prison, should a soul sacrifice his life a hundred thousand times in the path of the Friend, verily it would be seen as non-existent and as naught compared to this most great bounty.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1298-09 [1881-Jul], to Masumih -- BH08383)
They who have sacrificed their souls in My path are of the people of Baha. The Concourse on High will seek blessings from the dust of their footsteps. O blessed be this glorious, mighty station!
They whose eyes have been opened behold this world and its ornaments as a mirage which the thirsty one thinketh to be water.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Baha'is of Asiyaban -- BH04015)
Every soul shall taste of the cup of death, and if this occurs for the sake of God and his spirit and body are sacrificed in the path of the Beloved, surely this is most fitting, and every person of insight bears witness that this station is the most exalted of stations in the sight of God.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1293-05 [1876-May], to Muhammad Isma'il -- BH03328)
Consider how death is ordained and decreed for every soul in every circumstance, yet to yield up one's life in the path of the All-Merciful among the concourse of creation is a thousand times more excellent than to die upon one's bed.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1296-09-05 [1879-Aug-23], to Abu'l-Hasan-i-Ardikani (Haji Amin) -- BH00508)
Whatever befell thee in the path of God hath not been and will never be lost in His sight.
(Bahá’u’lláh, ca. 1289-1290?, to Karbalai Muhammad Husayn -- BH08744)
As to what thou didst mention concerning Hasan whose hand was severed in the path of God, the Lord of all men, by My life! We shall surely give him wings wherewith to soar in the atmosphere of the Kingdom.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Zaynul-Muqarrabin et al -- BH00239)
Blessed are you for what you have done. You offered up your possessions, your kindred and your souls in the path of the Glory of God for the love of His Most Exalted Beauty. Praised be Thy Most Glorious Lord as He hath created you, and hath called you into being and hath raised you up from the tombs of self and desire and hath enlisted you under the banner of the Praise of God at the hour when the Most Great Resurrection came to pass.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1911 ca. -- AB01514)
Faithfulness and purity lie in freely sacrificing our lives and offering up our comfort, ease, joy and delight in His path. For love of Him is the soul's repose and the conscience's comfort.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1901 ca., to Baha'is of Ardikan -- AB00752)
O thou who art enkindled with the fire of the Love of God!
Thy letter came, and the interpretation of thy dream is this, that thou wilt render devoted service in the Blessed Cause, and wilt sacrifice thy soul, heart, spirit, body and all thy name and trace unto the Abha Beloved One.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Dec-12, to Marie L Botay -- AB03475)
In every breath, sacrifice thy life, and with every respiration become the target of an arrow, so that thou mayest sacrifice a hundred thousand lives for the Beloved and in every moment become a martyr in the path of the Lord.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1900 or <, to Darvish Isma'il -- AB06778)
I am pleased with thee, and I beseech God that He may provide the means whereby thou mayest be delivered from this state of melancholy and sacrifice both soul and substance in the path of truth, becoming the chief among those who are enraptured and the banner of those who would give their lives.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Tafrishi, Mirza Fadlullah father of Mirza Nasrullah -- AB07599)
O maidservant of God! In the path of the Ancient Beauty, sacrifice your life and offer yourself as an oblation at the threshold of the All-Merciful. Therefore, if you seek eternal life, become a sacrifice, and if you desire endless existence, become effaced and evanescent.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Ruqiyyih (Family of Haji Iman) -- AB09168)
If one spends life in the divine path, then every moment bears fruit. Now consider those souls who are annihilated in the Cause of God and effaced at His Sacred Threshold, who have no purpose or desire save servitude to the Blessed Beauty--how spiritual, radiant, enkindled, detached and mindful they are!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken ca. 1915 -- ABU0347)
Every drop of blood shed in the Cause of God will raise up one hundred believers. Martyrdom is the supreme test of belief. Great martyrs will arise in this Cause in the years to come. A believer is sometimes called upon to suffer a living martyrdom.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Julia Grundy spoken around Jan. 1905 -- ABU3369)
Ye have borne in God's path that which none else hath borne.
… In truth, ye have heard taunts and witnessed abasement, and for the sake of God ye have renounced all that pertaineth to the world.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1298-09 [1881-Jul], to Aqa Muhammad Ali Makhmal -- BH03765)
Man tasteth the cup of death but once; now if this should come to pass for the sake of God, its fragrance would perfume the world of existence.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307 ? [1889-1890], to Ali Asghar Uskui -- BH04139)
Arise by God's leave and make mention of Him. He will protect thee, and He hath power over all things. Thus hath the Pen taught thee. Arise and fear not the oppressors.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Sultan Husayn, Bi -- BH05557)
By God! Wert thou to find the sweetness of My remembrance, thou wouldst sacrifice thyself in My path and arise among the handmaidens with My remembrance and praise.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Gul Bahar wife of Haji Muhammad Baqir Nabil -- BH08054)
This is among the greatest of divine favors that He bestows the mighty profit of being sacrificed in His path upon souls that would certainly depart this world without benefit or fruit.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1892-Sep-29, to Abdu'l-Husayn son in law of Vazir (Isfahan) -- AB01286)
Convey greetings and praise from Abdul-Baha to the esteemed brother Jinab-i-Aqa Muhammad Ismail and say: Take up such a work that the self-sacrificing ones of the past are forgotten, and hasten to the divine altar of sacrifice in such a way that offering one's life becomes bliss.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Mirza Muhammad Tabrizi -- AB01681)
We are servants, offering up heart and soul in the path of the Beloved, and we count this as the greatest gift from the All-Merciful Lord.
… And praise be to God that the grace and gifts of the Lord of Lords are boundless, and He has restored the glorious crown of steadfastness upon his blessed brow, that he might be ready for sacrifice and through this sacrifice attain to true success.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Abu'l-Hasan-i-Ardikani (Haji Amin) -- AB02345)
O ye handmaidens who are near to the Divine Threshold! I am aware of all the afflictions, trials, hardships and tribulations that have befallen you, and I know how difficult these days have been and how obstinate these oppressive and ignorant people are.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Oct-06, to Baha'is of Nayriz -- AB02403)
Give up your head that you may raise it like a banner. Scatter your life that you may plant the sapling of hopes and desires in the garden of the bounty of His Holiness the Divine Unity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Baha'is of Manshad -- AB02871)
If in this age of the bounty of the Blessed Beauty one does not sacrifice his life, in what other century of the world's centuries will he seek exaltation, ascent and progress?
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909 or <, to Abbas Qabil -- AB03748)
O Ali! The exaltation of man lies in self-sacrifice, and the ascent of the human being lies in offering and sacrifice. Whoever is closer at this feast is given a fuller cup of trials.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Faridiyan, Mirza Ibrahim Kalimi et al -- AB07183)
The condition of faithfulness among the loved ones is to bear great hardship so they may arise with the mystery of sacrifice.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1902 ca., to Siyyid Asadullah Qumi -- AB07327)
O thou who art intoxicated with the wine of faith! If thou seekest the eternal sovereignty of the world, sacrifice thy life like thy noble namesake. If thou desirest the crown of everlasting dominion, offer up thy head in the path of the Lord. If thou wishest for imperishable glory, choose abasement in the path of the Lord of Lords. And if thou longest for divine life and everlasting existence, sacrifice both heart and soul.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1900 or < -- AB10918)
Faithfulness demands self-sacrifice and the giving up of one's life in the Path of that Beloved of the regions.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1914-Jul-02 -- AB11104)
In any case, O friends, it is time to sacrifice your lives in gratitude for the favors of the Abha Beauty, and to rejoice in this sacrifice, and in utmost joy hasten to the divine altar in His path of love. Do not be miserly in offering up your spirit, and do not withhold in giving all things.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Baha'is of Faran et al -- AB11651)
Thanks be to God that He has trained such friends and raised up such souls beneath the shade of the Word of Unity, who freely sacrifice their wealth, lives, name and fame in the path of that Kind Beloved.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-May-29, to Mashhadi Rida et al -- AB12237)
How ignorant are the people! They are willing to forfeit their possession, honor, wealth, property and even life in the path of their country but unwilling to do any sacrifice in the path of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1914-Jul-05 in Akka -- ABU1123)
Be eager to suffer for such an end. Forget yourself, forget personal danger, personal evil and inconvenience. Have no fear of evil to yourself in the great cause of unity and peace.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken ca. Oct. 1911 -- ABU1805)
For example if they bring me under the sword of the executioner and threaten me that unless I deny my belief they will behead me I will sacrifice my life in His Holiness' Path with the utmost joy and happiness.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Pleiades Sylvan Bower, Alhammeh near Tiberias, 1914-May-10 -- ABU3056)
How many of the weak ones, after hearing the call, were seen to manifest such strength and power that neither the might and majesty of the world nor the massed ranks of the peoples could prevent them from turning to the Most Exalted Horizon.
(Bahá’u’lláh -- BH00649)
Blessed, then blessed is he who purposed to seek the Purpose of the world and sacrificed his spirit when the clamor of the nations was raised, in the path of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1297 ? [1879-1880], to Salih -- BH01287)
We beseech God to change the sorrow of His loved ones into the Most Great Joy and to ordain for them what He hath ordained for His chosen ones who have sacrificed what they possessed of wealth, souls and bodies in His straight Path.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307 ? [1889-1890], to Sister of Haji Siyyid Javad -- BH02343)
That which thou didst mention caused boundless joy, for thou art prepared to sacrifice thy spirit and carry out the decree. Well is it with thee! This truly is the station of lovers on the Day of the Covenant. We beseech God to record for thee the reward of this Most Exalted Station and to honor thee therewith. Verily, He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, and He is the Forgiving, the Merciful....
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306 ? [1888-1889], to Abdullah et al -- BH03953)
The Glory shining from the horizon of the heaven of favors be upon the people of Baha who have not been frightened by the hosts of the world nor weakened by the power of the wicked ones.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Mirza Ghulam Husayn -- BH06205)
Sacrifice this earthly frame for the Celestial Beloved and offer this contingent temple as an oblation to the Beloved of the realms beyond, that thou mayest witness a goodly life and an eternal existence in the Most Glorious Kingdom and observe the manifest signs.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Tablet to Badi' in Haifa, 1286-03 ca. [1869-Jul] -- BH09280)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906 ca., to Arthur Cuthbert -- AB00131)
"His holiness the Christ loved both his disciples and believers to such an extent that he sacrificed his life for them. His holiness the Supreme (the Bab), loved the friends to such an extent that he gave his life for them.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the friends, spoken on 1921-Nov-19 -- ABU0413)
Even you, O Baha'i friend, will be able to walk the way to the Kingdom of God only through a life of action in obedience to God's Will and through daily suffering and dying in self-sacrifice. - How much more then the Holy Heralds of God?"
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken to Miss St. in Aug 1910 -- ABU1479)
According to the ordinances of the Bible, anyone committing a sin must offer a sacrifice. When Christ appeared He desired to make a symbol of Himself, so He said 'I am the atonement'.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1900-Oct-07 -- ABU2477)
O Muhammad, O thou who hast migrated! The True One, glorified be His majesty, left His homeland and chose exile so that this exile might lead the exiles of the earth to their true homeland.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1299-09 [1882-Jul], to Muhammad -- BH09699)
Thus have We opened before thy face the door of grace with the key of justice. When thou attainest unto it, say: "Praise be to Thee, O God of the seen and unseen! I testify that Thou hast forsaken rest for the elevation of the nations, accepted abasement for the glory of the world, and chosen exile that servants might reach the Supreme Homeland, the station which God has sanctified beyond the comprehension of minds."
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1300 ? [1882-1883], to Aqa Shaykh Abbas -- BH01742)
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Muhammad Hashim -- BH09383)
I have not preserved myself for even an hour, and I have been as a burning fire among Thy sinful servants, as a shining lamp before Thine enemies, and as the rising sun above the heads of the wretched ones.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier -- BH01653)
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Aqa Siyyid Jim -- BH02536)
We have sacrificed Our souls in the path of God and summon all from the horizon of tribulation unto God, the Possessor of Names.
(Bahá’u’lláh, ca. 1289-1290?, to Mirza Abdullah Khan Nuri -- BH03226)
Would ye slay Him Who hath sacrificed His soul in the path of God and made known unto you what the Most High, the Most Great, hath desired for you?
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier -- BH04328)
My soul be a sacrifice for Thee, O Thou Who hast offered up Thyself for the salvation of the world. My spirit be a ransom for Thy prison, O Thou Who hast borne tribulations for the life of all in the lands."
(Bahá’u’lláh, ca. 1289-1290?, to Aba Ali -- BH04863)
Consider what station that Sun of Reality and Reality of Divinity (may my spirit, my being and my essence be sacrificed for His body) chose for Himself, that they hung Him in public and fired a thousand bullets at His blessed breast.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Mirza Siyyid Muhammad Afnan (Aqa Mirza Aqa Nurud-Din) -- AB01358)
We have sacrificed Our very selves and Our spirits for the salvation of the world, and God is cognizant of what I say.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1292-06-19 [1875-Jul-23], to Aqa Mashhadi Haydar -- BH08085)
The might of the divines and rulers did not prevent Him from speaking the word of truth. He spoke that which was the cause of exaltation and ascension.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307-04-05 [1889-Nov-29], to Mirza Yaqub Hamadani -- BH07991)
Say: Though they may fear for their bodies, We do not fear, for We have sacrificed Our body in the love of God, the Exalted, the Great.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Haji Muhammad Nasir -- BH05097)
Say: We have indeed sacrificed Our soul in the path of the Beloved, though the people be among the fearful. Say: Would that I might sacrifice myself in His path at every moment and every instant.
… Say: Blessed is the hour wherein the Youth sacrifices himself in the path of God, the King, the Just, the All-Wise, and blessed is the moment wherein the blood of the Youth is shed for love of the Beloved of the worlds. … I verily desire to sacrifice Myself in His path in place of all the worlds, were ye to understand.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Shaykh Kazim Qazvini (Samandar) -- BH02588)
O my Lord! Let me taste the heat of the sword in Thy path, then increase the misery of them who have disbelieved. Then sharpen the blade of their knives that they may cut me piece by piece in Thy path. This is my desire, O my Beloved!
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Muhammad Husayn brother of Muhammad Hashim -- BH01437)
In one of the Tablets was revealed: "I passed not by a tree but My heart addressed it saying: 'Would that thou wert cut down in My name and My body were crucified upon thee in God's path.'" By God! If the servants were to drink the wine hidden in this exalted word, it would suffice them and the intoxication of love would seize them to such degree as to detach them from all the worlds.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Ismi -- BH02129)
And the Spirit mourneth, saying: I would sacrifice myself that there might not befall Thee that which would sadden Thy heart.
… Baha calleth out between earth and heaven, whilst standing firm in that which He hath been commanded, His hands raised toward God, the Lord of Names, saying: I have chosen, in My love for Thee, the afflictions of all who are on earth, and I fear not, by Thy might and Thy power.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290-05 [1873-Jun], to Jinab-i-Mirza Hasan -- BH03149)
And at that moment, with all of this and all that Thou hadst given me through Thy generosity and honored me with through Thy beneficence, I took this holy spirit and this divine light and this lordly essence in the palm of my hands, desiring to sacrifice it at Thy feet. This is the ultimate purpose of my existence in Thy dominion and the final goal of my seeking in Thy lands.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Mulla Muhammad Zarandi (Nabil-i-Azam) -- BH02468)
Turn ye unto your Creator and slay your souls in the path of God, the Truth, in humility before God, the Most High, for God is mighty and praiseworthy. He it is Who hath sent down these verses from His presence in truth as glad tidings to all the believers. He is God, the Worshipped One, there is no God but Him, in truth, and God hath knowledge of all things.
(The Báb, Qayyumu'l-Asma' (Commentary on the Surah of Joseph), 1260-05 [1844-May] -- BB00002)
This is truly the path of God. And this response befitteth the lover who is devoted to the embodiment of Absolute Beauty. This is the arena of self-annihilation, of a hundred thousand acts of self -immolation, of being melted in pure love.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Muhammad Isma'il -- AB04400)
This was naught but the manifestation of one of the divine mysteries and the emergence of a symbol from among the symbols of the All-Merciful Beauty, that the mystery of sacrifice might appear in the realm of being and the mighty sacrifice which was offered up to the Glorious Lord might become known and celebrated.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1894 ca., to Muhammad Isma'il -- AB04778)
O namesake of the divine sacrifice! In the mighty Qur'an and perspicuous Book it is revealed: "And We ransomed him with a mighty sacrifice." In this blessed verse, the mystery of sacrifice is expounded and the light of guidance is manifest, for sacrifice and guidance are twins, and offering and faith are one body in two garments.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Muhammad Isma'il Khalili -- AB04777)
O thou who art sacrificed in the path of love!
According to the belief of the followers of the Qur'an, His Holiness Ishmael, or according to the explicit texts of the Torah, His Holiness Isaac, hastened to the altar of sacrifice with the utmost joy, dancing and leaping. He laid his head beneath the blade and dagger.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Muhammad Isma'il -- AB09967)
O thou steadfast servant at the Divine Threshold! Thy noble namesake, His Holiness Isaac, laid down his head in submission at the altar of sacrifice and showed his desire to give up his life. I beseech the favors of the All-Subtle, the All-Informed Lord that thou too mayest follow the example of thy noble namesake, that thou mayest attain to the great sacrifice.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Ishaq Khan Baha'i Muttahidih -- AB12750)
(The Báb, Words spoken upon the death of His son, 1259 [1843] -- BBU0007)
Make mention to all the companions of guidance, one and all, in thy land and in the Land of Qaf; and uplift a special magnification over the Name of God, the Sacrificed (al-Dhabih); for, in very truth, He sacrificed His Self in the path of His Lord -- with a sacrifice such as is accounted in the path made straight -- and this is naught but through the power of God, the Most High, the Most Great.
(The Báb, Kitabu'l-Karim, unknown (early Chihriq?), to Abdu'l-Karim Qazvini, Quddus and others -- BB00314)
O Dhabih! Thou hast been sacrificed at every instant during twenty years, and none knoweth this save thy Lord, the Mighty, the Best-Beloved. Know thou that when the Dhabih of old desired to reach the station of sacrifice, redemption came unto him from the heaven of divine decree. But this Dhabih accepted no redemption and was sacrificed by the sword of hatred wielded by these transgressors who comprehend not what they do.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Suriy-i-Dhibh, to Dhabih (Haji Muhammad Isma'il Kashani) -- BH00434)
He had no thoughts, will or desire of his own, and at all times awaited God's command. He would take no action without God's leave and permission. For years he had sacrificed himself in the path of the Friend, though outwardly he spoke, listened and walked about.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1297-09-19 [1880-Aug-25], to Mulla Ali Bajistani -- BH00534)
O Khalil! In the divine days he sacrificed in the path of the Friend all that he possessed. All the Concourse on High desired to make the sacrifice, but He did not accept it.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1298-12-22 [1881-Nov-15], to Khalil -- BH10452)
O Amin! Reflect upon the lovers in all regions who, with perfect submission and contentment, have sacrificed their souls - the most exalted and precious of all things - for the One True Beloved.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306 ? [1888-1889], to Abu'l-Hasan-i-Ardikani (Haji Amin) -- BH00384)
These are servants who remained faithful to Thy Covenant and Testament, who hastened to the station of sacrifice in hope of what lieth with Thee, and in whom Thy most exalted Word had such effect that their hearts were melted thereby, their eyes shed tears, and their necks bowed before Thy grandeur.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1300 or > ? [1882-1883] -- BH00996)
"God be praised!" he said. "Nothing is left me on this pathway. I have lost everything, including my bride. I have been able to give Him all I possessed."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tadhkiratu'l-Vafa (Memorials of the Faithful), 1916-Mar-25 -- AB00002)
Under chains and fetters, like a lion in the jungle of detachment, he was engaged with utmost joy and delight in offering praise and glorification to His Holiness the One.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1900 or <, to Haji Abu-Talib Hamadani -- AB02070)
You offered up your life and material possessions. You considered it a blessing when your homes were looted and plundered.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Jul-01, to Anvari Yazdi, Siyyid Mihdi son of Muhammad Baqir Yazdi et al -- AB02656)
Each day you were in grave danger under the swords of the oppressors. You sacrificed your soul at every moment and spoke with mighty proof, establishing conclusive evidence and overwhelming argument against the atheists to vindicate truth and vanquish falsehood, immersed in the ocean of guidance. You spent your days drinking the bitter cup in the path of the Luminary of the horizons.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablet of visitation for Samandar, 1919-Aug-25 -- AB02323)
Greetings and praise from the Supreme Concourse be upon you, O one who was martyred in God's path, who was attracted by God's fragrances, who believed in God's words, who took refuge in the mighty pillar, the impregnable fortress, and the secure shelter, and who endured in Baha's path every hardship and affliction and the gloating of enemies and the abuse of the wicked ones.
… They left no abuse except that they inflicted it upon your precious body and tortured you severely in this path and cast you into the great prison and struck you with whips for your love of your Lord, the One, the Unique.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Dec-11, to Karbala'i Hasan Khan brother of Sadiq et al -- AB02484)
O servant of the divine friends! Although for some time you have been engaged in serving the friends and raised the banner of servitude to the Truth, now that you have sacrificed your beard and its roots in the path of the love of God, it has become clear and evident that your service and servitude at the Sacred Threshold has been accepted.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1901-Jan-09, to Hasan Ali Akbar -- AB02547)
Surely you know with what joy and delight the faithful friends drank that brimming cup, and how they hastened to the altar of love crying "O rapture! O joy! O glad tidings! O blessedness!" One exclaimed "Is there any who beholds me?", another proclaimed "No harm - we are returning to our Lord!"
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903-Sep-20, to Rida Quli Khan -- AB03952)
Saint Barbara was an ordinary girl, but when she sacrificed her life and soul for Christ, observe how she shone like a star from the horizon of the world.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Jan-28, to Baha'is of Santa Barbara, Ca -- AB06571)
But Sulayman Khan, may my spirit be a sacrifice for him, was in the utmost joy and delight. At night he said to the executioner, "Bring me a cup of tea, for tonight I am your guest, and tomorrow night I shall be God's guest."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the friends, spoken on 1914-Dec-01 -- ABU0183)
He acted according to that which was revealed from the Supreme Pen in previous years in the Persian tongue:
O sacrifice of God, from love's altar-place Turn not back, but give thy life in love's ways
And this sacrifice returned not alive from the altar-place.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1296 ? [1878-1879], to Fadlullah -- BH02246)
However, this blessed word was previously manifested from the Dayspring of the Light of Oneness: "O sacrifice of God! Turn not back from love's altar, But give up thy life in the pathway of love" And whatever has befallen those holy souls in the path of God has surely not been without effect, and its fruit will certainly appear.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1296 ? [1878-1879], to Siyyid Mihdi Dahaji -- BH02765)
Ye are they through whose arising to serve the Cause the servants arose to that which God desired in the final return.
I testify that through you the gate of generosity was opened upon the manifestations of existence, and the foundations of ranks and hosts were shaken.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307 ? [1889-1890] -- BH01271)
Blessed is he who visits My Name Husayn, concerning whom My Most Exalted Pen has spoken, and who says before his grave:
"By God! Through you the tale of sacrifice was renewed, and the Concourse on High lamented, and the Lote-Tree of the Far Boundary cried out.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1296 ? [1878-1879], to son of Mahbubush-Shuhada -- BH03672)
He said:
My God, my God! This is my spirit, my soul, my body, and my limbs. I desire to sacrifice them in Thy love and in Thy path.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306-01-25 [1888-Oct-1], to Mirza Abdu'llah -- BH01059)
Then remember him who severed his own head, moved by the rapture of the Divine Call when he was present in Baghdad before the countenance of the Lord of all beings. He sacrificed his life to exalt the Word of God, the Mighty, the Praiseworthy.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1305 ? [1887-1888], to Baha'is in Shin and Ha et al -- BH00575)
Through them the heavenly table was sent down, the Dove cooed, all things spoke forth, and that which was hidden in the Kingdom of Names was made manifest. Exalted, exalted be their station! Exalted, exalted be their glory, their submission, their humility, and their self-effacement! These are servants through whom the horizon of utterance was illumined and the sun of proof shone forth. The rapture of the Manifestation seized them in such wise that they sacrificed their souls and all they possessed in the path of God, the Lord of all worlds.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1298-12-24 [1881-Nov-17], to Siyyid Ali Yazdi Husband of Hubbiyyih -- BH01143)
They passed beyond self and became detached from stranger and kin. They inhaled the sweet fragrance of that musk-laden tress and became enchanted, involuntarily longing for the gleaming sword. They laid down their heads and offered their throats to the dagger.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Abdu'llah Khan -- AB00656)
After enduring great hardships, he took his heart and soul in hand, hastened to the altar of love, and offered them in the path of the Beloved.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Mirza Yusuf Khan Shirazi (Lisanul-Hudur) -- AB04285)
The poisonous sting of the sword is preferable to them than all the panaceas that promise healing and the lethal arrows of cruelty seem to them to be a balm of faithfulness and sweet medicine.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1893-Jan-26, to Muhammad Husayn Khan -- AB04827)
Divine success and heavenly confirmation led him to the place of sacrifice and altar of love, until savage bloodthirsty ones like wolves attacked that chief of the free, giving not a moment's respite. … And since that noble one was intoxicated and stupefied from the overflowing cup of the sealed wine, he found the wounds of every merciless one to be a balm for the soul, and sought the poison of sword and blade as honey and cure.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Abdu'l-Karim Yazdi -- AB11824)
One should kiss the hand of the assassin and dance joyously towards the path of the Friend. How blessed is this hour and how sweet is this time when the spiritual soul is ready to sacrifice itself and the temple of faithfulness has resolved to ascend the heights of extinction.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Shikkar-Shikan Shavand, to Siyyid Muhammad Husayn Mutivalli Qumi et al -- BH00746)
If thou didst only know the mystery of sacrifice in the path of God which cometh of this peculiar bounty from the love of God, if thou didst only know of the mystery of martyrdom which God ordains for such of His servants who are particularly near to Him, I swear by God that thou wouldst rush forth with passionate zeal into the field of abnegation calling, “Make haste, make haste to this great bounty!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1896 ca., to Mirza Husayn Zanjani -- AB00392)
This is triumph and success, glory and prosperity, for servitude to God is proven and established under chains and fetters, and before arrow and sword, not at a sumptuous table with honey and sweetmeats and vintage wine and overflowing cups.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1911 ca., to Aqa Husayn Ali -- AB04722)
He is of those souls concerning whom the Primal Point hath said: "Verily I, and all who dwell in Paradise, do truly yearn, with utmost yearning, for the soul that hath been slain in His path."
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1298-06-03 [1881-May-3], to Aqa Muhammad Rahim -- BH06412)
On the one hand this grievous calamity hath, like unto a dagger, inflicted upon me so profound an injury that no salve can soothe, nor can any balm assuage; while on the other the scene of sacrifice is seen bedecked with such splendid pageantry, such marvellous festivity that the holy ecstasy of its wine seizeth forevermore the minds of those that are godly and spiritual. Moreover, the Concourse on high and the dwellers in the Abha Kingdom are now expounding the mystery of sacrifice, the main purport of all heavenly Scriptures.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Murtida Humayuni -- AB03172)
All this, my God, hath come to pass in Thy path and happened for love of Thee, while Thy loved ones are aflame with the fire of Thy love, calling out amid this tumult, as the fire of hatred blazed and the clashing of the enemies' swords rang out, "O Thou Glory of the Most Glorious!"
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Baha'is of Ishqabad -- AB01460)
O Lord, my Hope, my Refuge, my Desire, my Shelter, my Haven, my Safe-Harbor and my Protection! I beseech Thee with the beseeching of one abased before the Kingdom of the Glorious One, and I implore Thee with the imploring of one evanescent before the All-Merciful Horizon, with my tongue and my heart crying continuously unto the Concourse on High, and I say:
O Lord, O Lord! Calamity hath encompassed all regions, and the earth hath quaked from successive afflictions visited upon humanity. The forces of dust and the pillars of verdure have trembled as the fires of tyranny and aggression have blazed forth, reaching unto the heavens.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1912-Jan-16 -- AB00230)
Verily they have dealt with the people of oppression with the utmost amity and forgiveness and they rejoice over their trials.
O God! these, their enemies did not know; if they knew they would [not] have acted in this manner. This has ever been their custom in the past ages.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1914-Sep ca., to to a Baha'i assembly -- AB02851)
O Lord! Bestow upon me a drop from that brimming cup, and waft to my nostrils a fragrance from that garden of sacrifice, that I may be attracted to all horizons, become bewildered and enchanted by that resplendent Beauty, and offer up my soul and spirit.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903-Aug-18, to Badii, Haji Mirza Ali son of Mimar et al -- AB06100)
She traveled in Your path to distant regions and proclaimed Your Kingdom in various lands until her flesh and fat melted away from the hardships she endured in Your path. She was afflicted with illnesses and diseases that weakened her body, made her bones brittle and inflamed her insides, until the pains intensified in her heart, whereupon she left this transient life, yearning for the eternal life.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1916-Dec-21 -- AB03272)
O Lord! She believed in You and Your verses, was attracted by Your fragrances, recited Your verses and words, gave glad tidings of the dawning of the Sun of Your divine Oneness, called out Your name in Your kingdom, left her homeland, distanced herself from family and friends, bore every hardship and suffering, and found sweet the bitterness of separation - all out of love for teaching children and passion for educating girls in the farthest lands.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1921-Jul-01 -- AB00927)
And he departed out of his fatherland with his two sons, setting his face towards Thee, trusting wholly in Thee, attracted to the Divine Fragrance of Thy days, and yielding thanks for Thy bounties. He traversed the valleys and the plains and crossed the rugged grounds and the mountains enduring every toil and affliction until, while on his way, he surrendered his soul and drank deep of the chalice of sacrifice that brimmeth over with the pleasing choice Wine and he yielded up his breath to Thee while being inflamed with the fire of his longing for Thee and attracted to the Day-Star of Thy creation.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Jun-24 -- AB01039)
He sacrificed his life repeatedly in Thy path and yearned for death in his longing to meet Thee, until he fulfilled his covenant while beseeching and supplicating before Thee, longing to attain Thy presence and yearning to ascend to Thy sacred threshold.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1919-Mar-25, to Mirza Asadullah Vazir -- AB00982)
Finally, he was exiled to Hadba', where he could no longer bear the separation from his Lord, so he set off on foot, in the utmost poverty, and eagerly while chanting prayers he walked from Hadba' to 'Akka. His [body] could, however, not bear the hardships of the journey; he travelled across the deserts with no food or provisions, and surrendered his soul with the utmost fervour and longing.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1920-Jan-02, to Naji, Abdu'l-Husayn et al -- AB00510)
Thou art he who didst leave thy homeland out of love for God, the Lord of the seen and the unseen, and didst depart from thy house in longing for His presence, until at last thou didst surrender thy spirit in His love and good-pleasure.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Haji Mulla 'Ali -- BH01250)
We testify that he hath taken for himself, beneath the canopies of My grandeur, a station whereunto none hath attained save him who hath sacrificed his spirit and all that he possessed in the path of God, the Lord of all religions.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307 ? [1889-1890], to Abdullah who has attained -- BH03619)
He passed his days in bitterness and bore the blame of every unbearable ill-omened one. This was solely out of love for Thy beauty, seeking reunion with Thee, yearning for the proximity of Thy mercy, pursuing Thy face, and longing to meet Thee.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1910-Apr-28, to Mirza Aqa Bashir Ilahi (Bashirus-Sultan) -- AB02685)
The purpose is this: it was the wish of that departed one to sacrifice himself. Praise be to God that he attained unto this gift, was exhilarated with this cup of favours and hastened unto the invisible kingdom of oneness in the utmost joy and gladness.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1908-Oct-31, to Marie L Hopper -- AB04050)
His honor Fa'iz has ascended to the Supreme Horizon. His honor the Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq, upon him be the Most Glorious Glory of God, was always intimate with this exalted Cause and coupled with sacrifice. He never rested nor laid his head upon the pillow of comfort.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Hand of the Cause Ali Muhammad Ibn Asdaq -- AB06687)
Your migration and arrival with your mother, upon her be the Most Glorious Beauty of God, and her ascension to the Supreme Companion, and likewise your second migration and the manifestations of love and affection and hardships endured in His path, exalted be He - all have been and are before Our sight.
(Bahá’u’lláh -- BH04835)
Thou seest Thy loved ones, detached from their homes, turning toward the seat of Thy mighty throne, fleeing from Thy enemies to the shelter of Thy mercy and favors. They have borne hardships by land and sea, drawing nigh unto Thee and seeking the sweet-scented breezes of Thy nearness and presence.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Amatullah Khanum -- BH07671)
I continually offer praise and supplication at the threshold of the All-Knowing Lord and beseech boundless aid and grace for those blessed souls, that they may raise a fresh tumult and become the cause of increased spirit and fragrance for the martyred spirits in the Most Glorious Kingdom, so that those noble fathers may witness how their righteous sons are watering the field of their hopes - that is, the crop which those fathers planted, these sons are watering; the palm tree which they planted, these are nurturing.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1920-Jan-21, to Khusraw et al -- AB01015)
Well then, these servants must now follow the example of those essences of being, showing such self-sacrifice in the path of the Intended Lord that it becomes evident and manifest that these souls are indeed the worthy successors of those noble predecessors and are the manifestation of "the son is the mystery of his father" in the gathering of the horizons.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Siyyid Baqir father of Zubaydih -- AB02762)
That which is most precious is most worthy of being sacrificed. A precious possession, not a worthless thing, is fit to be offered up. The most precious of all things is a piece of one's liver, especially a son in the sight of his father and mother. Give thanks unto God that thou didst sacrifice the most precious of things in the path of God and didst offer up the light of thine eyes.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Fatimih mother of Aqa Ali -- AB08137)
A mother who sacrifices such a precious gem in the path of God is herself a pearl from the shell of faith and certitude and a brilliant jewel from the ocean of grace and bounty.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1921-Jul-19, to Hajiyyih Khanum Muttahidih -- AB04484)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Baha'is of Khurasan -- AB00627)
He left behind family and kin in the prime of youth and springtime of life, turning to Thee in life's vigor with an enkindled heart, an attracted spirit, burning vitals, flowing tears and exhausted patience.
… He was persecuted, O my God, by all peoples and enemies, and was burned by the fire of their hatred blazing to the heavens.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1900 or < -- AB00680)
In reality thy household have sacrificed every condition in life in the Path of the Blessed Perfection; this family of Nayyar and Sina have forgotten every thought and given up every aspiration for the sake of the Cause and because of this I love them most devotedly.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Jinab-i-Sina, spoken on 1913-Oct-23 -- ABU1328)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1897-Feb-07, to Baha'is of Rasht -- AB00322)
He passed His days in prison; He reared us that we might be drunken with the wine of disappointment, that we might bear every hardship, that in the very clay of our being might be kneaded the pure intent of service to the Cause of God, and that we might become, in self-sacrifice, wholly involuntary---finding no rest for a moment, seeking no ease.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1913-Jul-25, to Aqa Muhammad Mihdi Akhavan Safa -- AB00393)
In brief, the Incomparable One did not create these servants of His Threshold for pleasure and delight, comfort and luxury, ease and rest. "The cup of wine and the bleeding heart - each to one was given; Such is the dispensation in the circle of destiny's decree." To one was given companionship with flowers, tulips, goblet and wine; to another, fellowship with sighs and lamentations. To one was granted an overflowing cup, to another a tear-filled eye. To Layla was given the heart-consuming glance, to Majnun the soul-burning sigh.
Thus it became clear that the portion of the lovers of the Beloved's face is the arrow of cruelty, not the pearl of bounty; the cup of tribulation, not the place of serenity; to burn, not to find rest; to face fire, not comfort; to sacrifice life, not to raise banners; to face oppression, not happiness.
The Day-Star of the horizons spent His life in prison and exile, in wandering and affliction. A Joseph in the prison of chains was He, and in this exile, in utmost anguish, He ascended to the horizon of glory. Not for a moment did He find rest, not for an hour did He repose. In the burning fire, like a smiling rose did He beam, and in the flood of sorrows, like a bubble did He circle in joy's rotatory motion.
Now these wanderers too must wholly cut off hope of comfort and ease, and pass beyond this world and all that is therein. We must close our eyes to all save the Beloved, sever ourselves from all but Him, and join with Him. A hundred thousand regrets and sorrows if, after that luminous Countenance and merciful Beauty, we should drink a drop from the cup of serenity, or seek fidelity from anyone, or wish for a moment's rest, or search for comfort, or desire luxury and bounty.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Lawh-i-Mahmud Furughi, 1898 or <, to Mahmud Furughi -- AB00026)
However, wandering homeless and instability and destitution and weakness and tribulations and disgrace and the constraints of imprisonment and climbing the gallows and sacrificing one's life and the altar of divine love - this is an eternal bounty and blessing and everlasting glory and spiritual joy and the heart's desire.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1911-Jul-14, to Mashhadi Rahmatullah et al -- AB05672)
True faithfulness is when I become wandering and nameless and in the field of sacrifice become the target of the arrow of cruelty.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1912-Oct-30, to Mirza Muhammad Rida Shirazi -- AB03490)
Make me the target for arrows aimed at Thy loved ones and the mark for spears directed at the hearts of Thy chosen ones, that I may sacrifice for them my spirit, essence, body, being, reality and identity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1907-Jul ca., to Shaykh Kazim Qazvini (Samandar) -- AB00463)
As to my drinking the cup of sacrifice: By the Lord of heaven, this is my utmost hope, the joy of my heart, the consolation of my soul and my final desire. Thou shouldst pray God that He may prepare this hope for me and ordain for me this mighty gift and that He may give me to quaff this cup which is overflowing with the wine of faithfulness in the path of Baha'.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1902-Sep-04, to Margaret B Peeke -- AB00671)
For through calamity the heart of Abdul-Baha is attracted; through (suffering) oppression the breast of Abdul-Baha is dilated; through enduring afflictions the faithfulness of Abdul-Baha is proven; through imprisonment the soul of Abdul-Baha is cheered; at every moment he wishes to quaff the cup of sacrifice in the path of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1902-Jun-25, to Sarah J Farmer -- AB00672)
Notwithstanding the weakness of constitution, the infirmity of the body and the nervous fever, every night He was in a city and each day amongst a community. Although at times He could not speak one word, before large audiences He delivered lengthy addresses.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1913-Aug-16 ca. -- AB09109)
Service to the Blessed Threshold requireth one to sacrifice everything. In that state, I gave her up and entrusted her to the Blessed Beauty, proceeding with the sea voyage, for I am completely resigned [to His Will].
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1912-Apr-11 ca., to Munirih Khanum -- AB07091)
My health, comfort, life and death are of no importance - may a hundred thousand like me be sacrificed for a single hair of the Temple of God's Cause.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906-Apr-05, to Hasan Khurasani -- AB02350)
For the past few years I have had no rest by day or night. I have been working constantly. Often in the middle of night when I was in bed, they would bring to me the word that such and such a person had called and I would get up and dress again to receive him.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1914-Oct-07 in Haifa -- ABU2904)
Rather, imprisonment in the path of the Beloved is a palace, and chains and bonds are freedom in both worlds, and fetters and manacles are the crown of endless sovereignty and grandeur.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1909-Aug-12, to Baha'is of Stuttgart, Germany et al -- AB12162)
In any case, we exiles are in utmost contentment and joy, even yearning and longing for sacrifice. O Lord! Ordain for Thy poor and helpless servant to drink from that cup which overflows with Thy great bounty....
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Ahmad Yazdi son in law of Abdu'l-Baha -- AB00693)
Those holy souls whose servitude 'Abdu'l-Baha seeks as eternal glory - they all endured the utmost trials and tribulations. Is it befitting and proper loyalty that I should seek comfort and ease, or freedom from prison? No, by God, this is not faithfulness in God's Cause!...
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Aqa Asadullah Ansari Maraghihi -- AB01481)
This physical and spiritual existence of 'Abdu'l-Baha was brought into being only to be effaced and annihilated in the path of Baha'u'llah. Otherwise what fruit is there from existence? Surely non-existence would be better than such an existence. This is true love, this is annihilation in the path of God....
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1921-Nov-14, to Edward T Hall -- AB00832)
Sacrifice! How sweet is the word in my taste! There is no greater bounty than this for me!
What greater glory can I conceive than to see this neck chained for His sake, these feet fettered for His love, this body mutilated or thrown into the depths of the sea for His Cause! If in reality we are His sincere lovers - if in reality I am His sincere Servant, then I must sacrifice my life, my all at His Blessed Threshold.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1914-Jan-13 -- ABU1148)
What is life but to be immolated on the Altar of His Love! What is life but to be thrown in the dust of the feet of the beloved ones, what is this worthless will but to be surrendered into the hands of the Almighty Father. What is the soul but to be offered in the arena of Truth, what is the spirit but to be given up for the progress of divine Civilization and universal Peace, and what is rest and comfort but to be thrown away for the establishment of brotherhood and the spiritualization of mankind!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the friends, spoken on 1915-Feb-09 -- ABU0765)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1902-Dec-07, to Marie L Botay -- AB03828)
(Bahá’u’lláh, Lawh-i-'Ashiq va Ma'shuq -- BH02198)
Until you give your life, you will not reach the Beloved; until you become detached, you will not attain; until you burn, you will not illuminate; until you weep, you will not laugh.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Siyyid Mihdi Dhakir -- AB04383)
If thou fulfillest, it shall be fulfilled: To drink the cup of woe from every chalice, To taste the blood of grief from every heart, To sever hope from touch of any comfort, To cut desire from reach of any need, To shed one's blood in passion's path is duty, To burn the heart in love was my first pact, Sleepless nights from every stinging bite, Daily abuse is part of my tradition, Deadly poison is my drink divine, Fate's oppression is my mercy true. Abandon love's claim or accept what comes - Thus runs the law within my holy way."
(Bahá’u’lláh, Panj Kanz (The Five Treasures), to recollections of Nabil-i-A'zam -- BHU0001)
You who are a purchaser of the divine Joseph's beauty and are possessed and enraptured by the true Beloved - how then must you be pure in sacrifice, ready to give your life, fearless, sacrificial, bewildered, rootless, notorious, possessed, captive and lowly in the path of the Beloved?
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Rajab Ali Khayyat -- AB06045)
O beloved and kind friend! The True Beloved and Divine Joseph unveiled His face and appeared in the Egypt of the All-Merciful. Some, like an old crone, sought Him with a skein of yarn; some, like Zulaykha, yearned for union with the Beloved, sacrificing life and wealth and honor and name and reason and understanding; and some, like Jacob, had their eyes illumined by the fragrance of His garment.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1900 or < -- AB10524)
O lovers of the Beloved throughout all regions! The true Beloved, like unto Joseph of Canaan, unveiled His face and entered the marketplace of Persia. Some desired to purchase Him with mere words while others sought to gain His love through self-sacrifice. Those who wished to purchase Him with words showed no steadfastness and soon afterward believed themselves cheated.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1913-Nov-01, to a Zoroastrian believer -- AB09096)
Surely he must have said "My soul be sacrificed for You" a hundred thousand times and recited: "Die if you would be a devoted lover, for you have done all else yet still live," and cried out with his heart's tongue: "Kill me, kill me, O trustworthy ones, for in my death is life upon life."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1893 ca. -- AB02087)
But Ios would not speak. The King's heart was breaking and he exclaimed, "Thy silence condemns thee. If thou dost not speak and justify thyself I shall banish thee forever from my face." Ios lifted his eyes and looked long on the King's face, then meekly bowed his head and went out from his presence and went alone into exile.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Lua Getsinger -- ABU0167)
How well was it said:
"A hundred thousand living hearts are needed on this path
To sacrifice a hundred lives with every breath"
Despite this, there is hope that the means of ancient comfort will be provided through His aid, grace and bounty.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Ibrahim Munir Divan -- AB05617)
Give no ear to the words of the unconscious ones, and hear this call from the invisible realm:
If you harbor thoughts of preserving your life, come not here
But if you would sacrifice soul and heart, come and bring them too
This is the way of the path - if you seek union with Baha
If you're not fit for this path, stay far and bring no trouble
These are days of test and times of trial.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1900 or <, to Aqa Muhammad Isma'il the Traveller -- AB01533)
The intention of heart and soul is to sacrifice life in the path of the Beloved. Given this, what other consideration remains, even if a hundred thousand arrows and spears should strike the target of heart and soul?
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1899 ca., to Mirza Siyyid Muhammad Afnan (Aqa Mirza Aqa Nurud-Din) -- AB02294)
Any soul that does not sacrifice in the path of the beloved that soul is lower than the body itself. Any head that is not offered as a sacrifice in the path of the beloved of the world is lower than the foot.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903 ca., to Muhsin Milani -- AB04298)
And if thou longest for the divine precinct, freely offer up heart and soul. Otherwise this journey will never reach its end, the goal will remain unattained, and the Beloved will not unveil His countenance.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1893 ca., to Aqa Muhammad (Yazd) et al -- AB09491)
O thou Rustam in the Faith of God! Praise be unto God that in the arena of sacrifice thou wert superior to that legendary champion of the land of Zabul.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Rustam Bihmard -- AB09973)
"Dear Lord, if I were to sink into oblivion, if I were to be forgotten like Victoria, still I should want to pour out my life as a sacrifice to Thee for love of Thee."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Juliet Thompson, spoken on 1909-Aug-15 -- ABU2364)
And say unto him: Dost thou love thy head more than God? Say: Glory be to God! I love it only that it may be raised upon the spear in Thy love, if this be acceptable unto Thee. Or is thy breast dearer unto thee than God? Say: Glory be to God! I have preserved it only for the arrows of the enemies in Thy path, and this lieth manifest before Thee.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Habib -- BH00777)
O Dhabih! When thou desirest the station of sacrifice in complete evanescence, accept no alteration. Sacrifice thyself for love of God, thy Lord and the Lord of all worlds.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Dhabih -- BH04683)
Therefore this is the time for steadfastness and the moment for glad-tidings, the day of sacrifice and the time of joy - and sacrifice is the essence of success.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Baha'is of Bushruyih -- AB04511)
Although this candle yearns for extinction and hopes for the dominion of the winds of cruelty - for extinction in the path of God is illumination and dimness is brightness - would that this candle were beheaded at every moment and every hour, that it might burn more brightly, and consume its soul that it might learn the way of servitude.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1894 ca., to Mulla Yahya (Sangisar) Hidayati -- AB05722)
Now is the time that we may sacrifice, for the sake of the Love of that Beloved, our spirit, our soul, our heart, our mind, our property, our life and our all; and to wish for nothing but His good pleasure, search for nothing but His Path, and desire nothing but His Service!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1910-Dec or < -- AB05984)
Therefore, in thanksgiving for this most great bounty and supreme favor, one must take the divine cup in hand and, dancing in the arena of sacrifice, bestow it upon all created things.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1892-Sep-15, to Mashhadi Husayn Ali -- AB08204)
It is my prayer that thou mayest become a moth that burns its wings in the flaming candle of the love of God, a salamander of love and desire in the fiery path of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1894 ca., to Khadim-Bashi (Shiraz) -- AB08901)
O Zayn of the worshippers! God willing, may you become the adornment of the steadfast ones and the ornament of those who are firm, possessing the ardor of lovers and the joy of the yearning ones, so that dancing and leaping and whirling, with one hand holding the cup of the love of God and the other hand bearing the offering of your life, you may hasten to the altar of love and sacrifice this transient life for the face of the Beloved.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Haji Shaykh Zaynu'l-Abidin Yazdi -- AB10516)
What does the ocean care about a dewdrop? Whatever oppression has occurred until now has only watered the Blessed Tree.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1920-Jul-04, to Abdu'l-Muhammad Irani Alizadih -- AB12151)
Then I told him take your rifle in your hand, keeping it in a position as though you are going to aim at them. Don't heed them at all. Don't look at them. Walk straight. Laugh and speak with me. The three men ahead of us cried out "down with your rifle" Mirza Javad did not give any attention to them. They were amazed at our audacity!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the Master's entourage, spoken at Hotel Marquardt on 1913-Apr-25 -- ABU1050)
To intimidate them seemed to be the only way I could avert the danger with which I was threatened. I turned back and rushed towards them with such determination that they fled away in distress and vanished. I could hear their distant cry, 'The little Babi is fast pursuing us! He will surely overtake and slay us all!'
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Nabil-i-A'zam around 1889 -- ABU1472)
(Bahá’u’lláh -- BH07166)
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to the Master's entourage, spoken on 1912-Apr-24 -- ABU3282)
How sweet, O my God, is the poison of death in Your love, and how delicious is the bitterness of annihilation in Your path, as if it were the bitter wine from the hand of one of wondrous qualities amid pools, gardens and groves.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1896-Oct-19, to Mirza Siyyid Muhammad Afnan (Aqa Mirza Aqa Nurud-Din) -- AB00396)
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Shafi -- BH05894)
But those who have sought Thy presence, whether male or female, long for the breezes of Thy favors to waft over them and for Thy traces to be sent unto them, even though thereby, O my God, trials from the people of hatred are intensified against us. Yet Thou knowest that I have not sought preservation for myself in Thy path, nor rest in Thy love.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier -- BH07669)
I beseech Thee by Thy Name through which Thou didst take unto Thyself the spirits of all things and didst give them life anew through what Thou hadst ordained in the heaven of Thy decree, and through which those who have recognized Thy unity hastened to the scene of annihilation and the sincere ones to the place of sacrifice, and offered up their souls in their love for Thy beauty and their longing for reunion with Thee and attainment unto Thy presence - that Thou mayest make me to be of them who have detached themselves from all names and have clung to Thy Self, the Most Exalted, the Most Glorious.
(Bahá’u’lláh -- BH10276)
Grant that I may sacrifice my life and attain to my heart's desire, that I may place the crown of bounty upon my head and raise the cry of 'O Glory of the Most Glorious!'"
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1901 or <, to Karbala'i Muhammad Salmani -- AB11974)
The spirit is beloved if it be sacrificed in Thy path, and the body acceptable if it be cast upon the dust in Thy name.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306 ? [1888-1889] -- BH01543)
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier -- BH01974)
How sweet is the deadly poison suffered in Thy path, and how precious are the arrows of Thy enemies when encountered for the exaltation of Thy Word!
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier -- BH04461)
Arise and say: O people! Fear not those who have disbelieved and associated partners with God while walking in His path. Rather, sacrifice yourselves in His path with joy and free will.
(Bahá’u’lláh, to Mirza Hasan Tabib -- BH08672)
Say:
O my Lord! I desire to lay down my life in Thy path if Thou accept it from me.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier -- BH10057)
(The Báb -- BB00534)
O Lord! I have sacrificed in Thy path what Thou didst give me through Thy bounty, and have spent in Thy love what Thou didst grant me through Thy grace. I beseech Thee, O Master of the kingdoms of names and Sovereign of the kingdom of eternity, to confirm me in sacrificing my spirit in the path of Thy good-pleasure and love.
(Bahá’u’lláh -- BH02411)
Rather, I beseech You in the darkness of nights and at dawn and daybreak to ordain for me in Your path to fall into the depths of seas, or descend into the bellies of deserts, or be crucified upon tree trunks throughout the lands. This is the utmost of my hopes and the ultimate of my desires and my greatest wish and aspiration through Your grace, bounty and benevolence. I know of no greater gift in existence than this.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1902 ca., to Mirza Yusuf Khan Shirazi (Lisanul-Hudur) -- AB00976)
I beseech Thee by the rustling of the Divine Lote-Tree and the lights of Thy Throne, O Lord of all beings, to make me one of those who have sacrificed their souls and all they possessed in Thy path.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307 ? [1889-1890], to Mirza Abdullah Muallim -- BH03531)
When the wine of My utterance from the direction of My prison did intoxicate thee, say: "My God, my God! Would that I had a thousand souls to spend in Thy path, and a thousand lives to sacrifice in Thy love!
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1306-01 [1888-Sep], to Abdul Husayn -- BH03952)
I love to sacrifice myself in Thy love and good-pleasure, and to be protected for the manifestation of Thy Cause and the exaltation of Thy Word.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1291-03 [1874-Apr], to Abd Qabl-i-Rahim -- BH05466)
Yet despite all this, I beseech Thee by the fire of Thy beauty - if this head be worthy of the sword of Thy enemies in Thy path, delay not Thy grace regarding it; and if this breast be fitting for the arrows of Thy decree in Thy good-pleasure, then hasten this through Thy bounty.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier -- BH06625)
I beseech Thee not to disappoint me of that which Thou hast ordained for Thy chosen ones and trustees who have sacrificed their wealth and souls in Thy path.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1307 ? [1889-1890], to Haji Muhammad Ismayn et al -- BH11723)
Yet I supplicate at the sacred Threshold, tearfully beseeching and saying: O Thou kind Lord! Through the power of Thy Faith and Thy Covenant bestow with every breath a new life and spirit upon this tender and conscientious youth, so that at every moment he may plunge into the sea of sacrifice, at every hour he may render some service, and every day he may kindle a fire that would burn away the veils and may enable a whole company to enter beneath the shadow the Word of God.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Yunis Afrukhtih -- AB06709)
O my Lord, Make them Thy refulgent dawns which shine and gleam upon the Temple of Unity, so that they may be resuscitated from the tombs of negligence, unfurl the standard of virtue and chant the verses of self-abnegation and renunciation while hastening toward the altar of sacrifice. Verily Thou art especializing to Thy Mercy whomsoever Thou willest and verily Thou art powerful in all things.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- AB11110)
O God! I am prepared to meet all calamities in Thy way and desire every trouble for Thy sake with all my heart and soul, but keep me, O God, in Thy hour of test.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- AB11758)
O Thou Forgiving Lord! Shed Thy Radiance upon these servants of Thine and give unto them a melodious voice in the Rose-garden of the Most High! Make them the musicians of the Heavenly Feast. Suffer them to become soul-sacrificing in the arena of nearness and union and let them rest on the Couch of the Everlasting Glory. Verily Thou art the Giver, the Generous, the Pardoner and the Kind!
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1913-Nov-01, to a Zoroastrian believer -- AB10297)
Praise sanctified above mention and glorification befitteth the Court of the Lord of Names, Who through His complete power and the attraction of His Primal Word drew all creation to the supreme horizon, and in such wise did He kindle the fire of the divine Word in those who have turned towards Him, and in those who have drawn nigh, and in the sincere ones, that each with utmost eagerness and good-pleasure turned towards the dawning-place of sacrifice.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1296-07-06 [1879-Jun-26], to Mirza Abdullah Falah from Sad -- BH01842)
O my God! If it is in accord with Thy divine wisdom, bestow upon me good health and encircle me with Thine own Confirmation and assistance; - in order that I may sacrifice my life on Thy Path, concentrate all my energies in Thy service, unfurl the banner of international Peace over every region, unclose the signs of Thy Mercy and Bestowal to the people of the world and summon mankind to the banquet of Thy inexhaustible Bounties.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words to Ahmad Sohrab, spoken on 1914-Feb-28 -- ABU0575)
They must ever be ready to sacrifice their properties, their rest and their lives so that in the world of humanity divine illumination be spread, the Banner of Universal Peace be upraised, and the Tabernacle of the Oneness of the world of humanity be pitched in the very center of this globe.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken at Rue St. Didier 30 in Paris, 1913-Jan-31 -- ABU2277)
The wise soul sacrifices his life for a mighty Cause, not for dust--for the life of souls, not for their death.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Words spoken on 1915-Aug-03 in Haifa -- ABU0951)
Now is the time to be illumined with the rays of the sun of the solidarity of the human race. This is the hour of self-sacrifice for the good of humanity.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1913-May-23, to referring to Mr Bryan's message -- AB09733)
Thus may they attain that attitude of sacrificing even life for one another. For the love of one another they should sacrifice all that is possible.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá -- AB07136)
Be so firm and steadfast in the Cause of God and the love of God that you become the envy of Mount Qaf and the object of admiration for the pillars of the world of creation. This is the fruit of the trees of oneness and the flowers of the rose-garden of uniqueness.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Mirza Asadullah Vazir (Isfahan) -- AB02260)
Further quotations · supplied wording and references
...[when the sword of self is plunged into the fire of the love of God, then] the qualities of the iron, its coldness, darkness, and hardness are concealed, and it manifests heat, luminosity and fluidity, which are the qualities of the fire.
(Abdu'l-Baha, in Response, p. 52)
It is certain that the Cause of God will envelop the earth, as the Holy Spirit works through those who are serving under sacrifice. The Guardian calls attention continuously to the fact that confirmations come only to those who sacrifice, and the greater the sacrifice, the greater will be the blessings and confirmations.
(11 Jun. 1954 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi)
Self-sacrifice is a magnet for the confirmations of the Holy Spirit; and therefore if the action is in the realm of self-sacrifice, it is sure to produce results. The friends should be prepared to sacrifice freely for the success of the Faith. When this is done, it will produce results.
(6 Feb. 1956 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi)
Continue exploring
- Abraham; Isaac; Ishmael
- courage
- detachment; severance; renunciation; patience
- evanescence and eternality; fana and baqa
- martyrs and martyrdom
- prayer for sacrifice
- sacrifice of the Manifestation of God redeems the world
- suffering and imprisonment
- tests and trials; sacrifice and suffering
- theodicy; the mystery of evil; of suffering
For thought and discussion
Questions to carry forward
- What changes in your understanding of sacrifice when the opening passages connect it with transformed character, care for life and patient service? Which later passage most deepens or challenges that understanding?
- What do the images of iron and fire, seed and tree, candle and light help you see about the relation between selfhood and spiritual growth? Where do their different emphases lead you toward new questions?
- How do the examples of nursing, hospitality, family responsibility, small gifts and relinquishing an opinion make sacrifice concrete? How might the reciprocal responsibility of those who receive help shape a community’s practice?
- How does a passage’s setting—as prayer, personal counsel, poetry, recollection or an account of persecution—affect the way you read its language? What do the fuller contexts reveal about grief, courage and the purposes for which a life is offered?
- What connections and differences emerge when you read John 12:23–26, Romans 12:1–8 and Qur’an 37:100–111 beside this compilation? How do fruitfulness, living service, trial and ransom open different paths into the mystery?
- What might it mean to assess sacrifice through the life and well-being it helps make possible? Which connected subject—detachment, courage, tests and trials, martyrdom, prayer for sacrifice, or the redemptive sacrifice of the Manifestation—would help you pursue your next question?