Have you forgotten that radiant morning, Bahá’u’lláh asks, when you stood beneath the tree of life and heard the words that bound you? The primordial covenant is a memory before all memories, the moment the Qur’an describes when the children of Adam testified to their Lord so that none could later plead ignorance [1]. Yet nearly everyone forgot, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá turns the ancient scene toward the present: the Day of Alast is the day of Manifestation, the hour when the Sun of Reality rises and every soul is asked the question again. The Báb adds that the question falls only on one who can choose, so the answer is an act of freedom. The images stay close to life, a cup whose wine is the covenant, a physician’s remedy that penetrates nerve and vein, and the promise is handed from Abraham to Moses to Christ and onward. Remembering such a covenant means more than recollection; it is translated into constructive deeds and the preservation of unity. The way leads to the centrality of the Covenant, to the reading of the Qur’an and the traditions, and to what preexistence means for a soul.
Have ye forgotten that true and radiant morn, when in those hallowed and blessed surroundings ye were all gathered in My presence beneath the shade of the tree of life, which is planted in the all-glorious paradise? Awe-struck ye listened as I gave utterance to these three most holy words: O friends! Prefer not your will to Mine, never desire that which I have not desired for you, and approach Me not with lifeless hearts, defiled with worldly desires and cravings. Would ye but sanctify your souls, ye would at this present hour recall that place and those surroundings, and the truth of My utterance should be made evident unto all of you.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Hidden Words - Persian, 1274 ca. [1857-1858] -- BH00113)
02
For the covenant of "Am I not your Lord?" was well known and universal, and yet all forgot it, save for a handful of souls more scarce than the philosopher's stone.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Darvish (Madinih) et al -- AB06228)
03
The Day of "Am I not?" is the Day of Manifestation. It is the hour of resurrection and revival. It is the time of the revelation of light. It is the moment of effulgence upon Sinai and the Mount. It is the Most Great Resurrection and the Supreme Catastrophe, when that Sun of Reality shines forth from the horizon of possibility and sheds its bounties upon the kingdoms of creation.
… The realities of all that greatest cycle are resurrected on that blessed Day before the Merciful One, and all are included in the address "Am I not?"
The truth in reality is that existence in all ranks is created with free choice, for the question "Am I not your Lord?" falls only upon one who has choice, as indicated by the words of the Sovereign, the All-Choosing: "There is nothing that does not glorify His praise."
(The Báb, Sharh-i-Hadith-i-ma min fi'lin yaf'alahu'l-'abd -- BB00366)
05
But praise be to God, you became privy to the Primordial Covenant, raised the cry of "yea," and circumambulated the Most Great Sanctuary, chanting "here am I."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1906-Oct-01, to Mother of Radiyyih et al -- AB02860)
06
O my loving God! Through pure bounty didst Thou breathe into me the spirit of life, bestow upon me the robe of existence, give me to drink from the wellspring of guidance, cause mine ears to hear the call of 'Am I not your Lord?', make me to hear the cry of 'Glorified be my Lord, the Most Glorious!', grant me shelter beneath the Tree of Unity, give me to drink from the cup of the Covenant, single me out through Thy special favor, and make me successful in achieving a mighty triumph.
O Living Temple! Through Thee have We gathered together all created things, whether in the heavens or on the earth, and called them to account for that which We had covenanted with them before the foundation of the world.
(Bahá’u’lláh, Suriy-i-Haykal (Surih of the Temple) -- BH00007)
08
Fear God Who created you for His Revelation and took from you His covenant in the atoms of the Bayan, and before that in the atoms of the Furqan, and before that in the atoms of the Gospel, until it reacheth the primal atoms.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1290 [1873] or earlier, to Ismullah, named Muhammad -- BH00853)
09
We created creation for this Day and took from them its covenant through the tongues of those Whom We sent, as a token of Our grace, for I am, verily, powerful over whatsoever I desire through My word "Be" and it is.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1299-07-26 [1882-Jun-13], to Mir Ali Aqa Bayk Naib -- BH06933)
10
This notwithstanding the fact that all the Prophets of God, whenever made manifest unto the peoples of the world, have invariably foretold the coming of yet another Prophet after them, and have established such signs as would herald the advent of the future Dispensation.
(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)
11
Speak in accordance with the instructions written herein, and utter not even one word more: Abraham, on Him be peace, made a covenant concerning Moses and gave the glad-tidings of His coming. Moses made a covenant concerning the promised Christ, and announced the good news of His advent to the world. Christ made a covenant concerning the Paraclete and gave the tidings of His coming. The Prophet Muhammad made a covenant concerning the Bab, and the Bab was the One promised by Muhammad, for Muhammad gave the tidings of His coming. The Bab made a covenant concerning the Blessed Beauty, Baha'u'llah, and gave the glad-tidings of His coming for the Blessed Beauty was the One promised by the Bab. Baha'u'llah made a covenant concerning a Promised One Who will become manifest after one thousand or thousands of years.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1912-Jun-24, to Charles Mason Remey -- AB01184)
12
And it is a basic principle of the Law of God that in every Prophetic Mission, He entereth into a Covenant with all believers---a Covenant that endureth until the end of that Mission, until the promised day when the Personage stipulated at the outset of the Mission is made manifest.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1903-Jun-01, to Helen S Goodall -- AB03257)
13
O loved ones of God! The lamp of the Covenant is the light of the world, and its reality the gift of splendour; the star of the Testament is a shining moon, and the words traced by the Pen of the Most High a limitless ocean. The Lord, the All-Glorified, hath, beneath the shade of the Tree of Anisa (Tree of Life), made a new Covenant and established a great Testament. He hath summoned everyone to the loving embrace of His Beauty and announced unto all the revelation of His manifest verses.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1901 ca., to Baha'is of Bombay et al -- AB00121)
14
"O My Friends! Call ye to mind that covenant ye have entered into with Me upon Mount Paran, situate within the hallowed precincts of Zaman" This is the Covenant and Testament which the Blessed Beauty took in the Holy Land by the Supreme Pen in the shade of the Tree of Anisa, and which was announced after His Ascension.
This is the Covenant and Testament which the Blessed Beauty established through the Supreme Pen in the Holy Land under the shade of the Tree of Anisa and which was promulgated after the Ascension.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Commentary on Persian Hidden Word no. 71 -- AB11387)
16
The essence of all essences of eternity and everlasting purity is the Covenant of the Luminary of the horizons, which is from the day of "Am I not?" until the endless evening - it had no beginning and will have no end.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Akkas, Abdu'l-Baqi brother of Mirza Hasan Knan -- AB06301)
17
They loosened their tongues in prayer and spoke in praise of their Lord, the Lord of the highest heavens, saying: "Glory be to our Most Glorious Lord Who took the Covenant in the primal world of atoms and blessed be His name in the next creation."
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1898-Nov-17, to Baha'is of Tihran -- AB02854)
18
The Ancient Physician healeth the nations with a sovereign remedy that penetrateth the nerves and veins - a pure, sufficient and healing elixir. It quickeneth the soul, its joy dispelleth grief; it revealeth the realities of divine mysteries; it illumineth the heart and maketh it merciful; it transformeth the breast into a divine mirror and the eyes into the seat of the presence of the Eternal.
… Its chalice is the primal, timeless Cup of Alast; its wine is the crimson Wine of the Supreme Covenant; its Cupbearer is the Abha Beauty.
Now become intoxicated and enraptured from the brimming cup of the Covenant of "Am I not your Lord?", that thou mayest become intimate with the pavilion of glory and discover the private chamber of the Abha Kingdom.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, to Masumih wife of Samandar, mother of Tarazullah -- AB10642)
20
Blessed are those persons who have become intoxicated from the joyous cup of the Primordial Covenant.
(‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1897-Nov-23, to Mirza Abdu'l-Ghafur -- AB07242)
21
You who are intoxicated with the wine of divine knowledge, seek the rapture of God's Covenant, that you may tell of the trust of the Primordial Day of "Am I not your Lord?", and be delivered from the fetters of the doubts of the people of allusions.
It behoveth every community that hath responded to My call, that hath turned unto Mine horizon, and directed its face toward the Qiblih of My loving-kindness, to beseech God at eventide and at dawn, and to say:
"O Lord of the lovers! I beseech Thee by Thy Name wherewith Thou hast taken the covenant of Thine own Self from all Thy servants in Thy Books, Thy Scrolls, and Thy Tablets, to make me, in all conditions, wholly immersed in the ocean of Thy love, uttering Thy praise, and turned toward the Qiblih of Thy bestowals.
(Bahá’u’lláh, 1294 ? [1876-1877], to Wife of Shaykh Kazim Samandar -- BH10503)
The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.
23
He will raise up creation on a Day when all shall be brought before Him. God beareth witness that there is no God but Him. He will surely gather you together on the Day of Resurrection. This is God's decree wherein there is no doubt. Say: All shall on that Day return unto God, thy Lord.
(The Báb, Kitab-i-Jaza' (Book of the Reckoning), 1264-05-05 ca. (Chihriq) [1848-Apr-9], to Mulla Husayn, Quddus, 'Abdu'l-Vahhab, Aba 'Ali, Hasan, 'Azim, Yahya and others -- BB00004)
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24
The vehicle in this resplendent Age for the practical fulfillment of these duties is the Covenant of Baha'u'llah; it is, indeed, the potent instrument by which individual belief in Him is translated into constructive deeds. The Covenant comprises divinely conceived arrangements necessary to preserve the organic unity of the Cause. It therefore engenders a motivating power which, as the beloved Master tells us, "like unto the artery, beats and pulsates in the body of the world". "It is indubitably clear", He asserts,: "that the pivot of the oneness of mankind is nothing else but the power of the Covenant."
M86-01 60.6 (29 Dec. 1988 from the Universal House of Justice)
Supplied quotation · catalogue passage not verified