Days of Remembrance - Selections from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh for Bahá’í Holy Days.

Naw-Rúz- 3 -

﴾ He is the Most Holy, the Most Mighty, the Most Exalted. ﴿

Praise be unto Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of the world and the Ruler of the nations! I testify that Thou hast from eternity been sanctified above the mention of all created things and exalted beyond the loftiest descriptions of Thy creatures. Whensoever Thy devoted servants sought to ascend unto the station of Thy recognition, the hosts of Thy knowledge barred their way; and whensoever Thy near ones desired to gain admittance to the heaven of Thy nearness, the overpowering majesty of Thine utterance kept them back. We bear witness that the loftiest of the divine names are but servants at Thy door, and that their most glorious manifestations bow down before Thy countenance and are humbled in Thy presence. Thou art, in truth, He Who can neither be described in letters, nor evoked by words, nor even contained within the hidden meanings they conceal. For these are all circumscribed by the inherent limitations of speech which characterize all the utterances of the peoples of the world.

Exalted, immeasurably exalted, art Thou above the mention of every soul and the understanding of every heart! Exalted, immeasurably exalted, art Thou above the description of anyone save Thyself and beyond every conception of Thy creatures! Were Thine own Manifestations to soar upon the wings of the seen and the unseen, yet would they fail to attain unto the first effulgence shining from the horizon of Thy most exalted Countenance and the dawning-place of Thy most sublime Revelation. And were the Exponents of Thy Lordship enabled to ascend for as long as the kingdoms of earth and heaven endure, yet would they be forever powerless to draw nigh unto the Day-Star of Thy beauty.

Blessed be the one who comprehendeth Thine enduring reality and the evanescence of all else but Thee, and who acknowledgeth Thy sovereign authority and the powerlessness of all save Thyself. And as the evanescence of all things is established before the surging ocean of Thy remembrance, O King of all names, it likewise becometh evident that their every mention and description falleth short of Thy might and grandeur and ill beseemeth Thy loftiness and power. And yet in spite of this, O my God, Thou hast, out of the wonders of Thy grace and munificence and as a token of Thy bounty and Thy favour, enjoined upon all to make mention of Thee and to praise Thee, and hast accepted their glorification of Thee out of Thy grace and generosity. Wherefore doth Thine own Self call on Thy Self and Thy very Essence invoke Thine Essence on behalf of Thy lovers who have borne every hardship in Thy path and every adversity out of love for Thee and contentment with Thy good-pleasure, in this blessed day which Thou hast made to be a festival for the inmates of Thy kingdom and for those who have kept the Fast by Thy command and obeyed Thy resistless decree.

Exalted be this blessed and glorious day which Thou hast designated by that beloved Name which is both hidden and manifest, and which, when it shone forth above the horizon of eternity, the Divine Lote-Tree called out, saying: “By God! The Lord of creation hath come, Whom no name can describe.” Whereupon Paradise was set astir and proclaimed with joy and fervour: “O concourse of the world! He hath come, round Whom circle the Daysprings of the All-Merciful, the Manifestations of the All-Praised, and the Dawning-Places of inspiration.” And all things cried aloud: “This is that Tablet with which the kingdom of creation hath been adorned and through which the gate leading unto the Divine Presence hath been flung open unto all who are in heaven and on earth.” Happy the one who hath forsaken every desire and hath drawn nigh unto the One Whose reality no word or utterance can convey.

By God! This is the Day whereon from the murmur of the waters can be heard: “No God is there but Him, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting”, and from the whispering of whose breezes can be heard: “No God is there but Him, the Almighty, the Best-Beloved”, and from the rustling of whose trees can be heard: “No God is there but Him, the Most Powerful, the Ever-Giving, the All-Glorious, the All-Loving”, and beyond them, from the Tongue of Grandeur can be heard: “This is the Day of the appearance of Him Who is manifest yet hidden, Who is visible yet concealed. Hasten unto Him, O ye who are the daysprings of the divine names, and draw nigh unto Him, O ye who dwell in the kingdom of creation, with hearts that have been purified from superstitions and vain imaginings and sanctified from the idle talk of men!”

Immeasurably exalted is the state of Thy loved ones who have clung to the cord of Thy command, held fast to the hem of Thine ordinances, uttered that which hath been permitted unto them in Thy Tablets, transgressed not the bounds ordained in Thy Book, and spoken out in Thy lands with wisdom as decreed in the scrolls of Thy bounty and the epistles of Thy grace. O Lord! Assist them to arise for the triumph of Thy Cause through what Thou hast expounded unto them with Thy most exalted Pen and what Thou hast instructed them in certain of Thy Tablets. O Lord! Leave them not to themselves, but keep them safe through Thy sovereignty and power and assist them through Thy might and bounty.

O Lord! They are Thy servants and bondsmen who have believed in Thee and have drawn nigh unto the heaven of Thy bounty. Suffer them not to be deprived of the tokens of Thy tender mercies in Thy days; neither do thou withhold from them the fragrance of the roses of Thy wisdom. Guide them then, O my God, to the ocean of Thy good-pleasure, that in Thy Name they may immerse themselves therein, and that they may not be saddened by that which their own minds have conceived, nor grieved by all that they have witnessed in Thy path. Verily Thou art the All-Powerful One Whose might every powerful one hath recognized, Whose sovereignty every possessor of majesty hath acknowledged, before the waves of the ocean of Whose knowledge every learned one confesseth his ignorance, and before the evidences of Whose power every soul endued with strength admitteth his helplessness.

Thou art the One, O my God, to Whom every name is abashed to be related, and in Whose presence all things shrink for shame from being mentioned. From eternity Thou hast dwelt in those transcendent heights that are exalted above all mention and description. How great are Thy sovereignty and Thy power and how mighty Thy grandeur!—this, though all things acknowledge that Thou art entirely sanctified from, and immeasurably exalted above, all but Thine own Self. Thou has subdued the entire world through a single Word that hath been related to the kingdom of Thine utterance and from which the fragrance of the robe of Thy Command hath been wafted.

O Lord of all being and Educator of all things visible and invisible! Grant us ears that are pure, hearts that are sanctified, and eyes that see, so that we may discover the sweetness of Thine enthralling utterance, may fix our gaze upon Thy supreme horizon, and may come to know whatever hath been sent down through Thy bounty, O Thou Who art the King of Names! Kindle then the fire of Thy love in Thy lands, that the hearts of Thy creatures may be set ablaze thereby, that they may turn towards Thee, may recognize Thy unity and acknowledge Thy oneness. O Lord of all names! Rend asunder before their faces the veils of glory, and make known unto them the excellence of this Day which hath been adorned with Thy Name and illumined with the light of Thy Countenance. Thou, verily, art He Whom the good works of the people can never exalt nor their evil deeds deter, Whom the ascendancy of the rulers cannot humble nor the power of the mighty vanquish. Thou doest through Thy sovereignty whatsoever Thou willest. No God is there but Thee, the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

Send down, then, upon Thy loved ones, O my God, from the heaven of Thy bounty that which will cause them to fix their gaze upon Thee and to act in accordance with Thy will and behest. Ordain for them, then, what will profit them and preserve them, what will draw them nigh and set them free. Verily Thou art their Lord, their Creator, and their Helper. No God is there but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.

I beseech Thee, moreover, O my God, to unite the hearts of Thy loved ones and to join them together in harmony and fellowship in Thy Cause, that naught may appear from them that would ill beseem them in Thy days. Thou, verily, art the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted, the Most High, the Most Great. Praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds!