II. “The Resistless March of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh”

Shoghi Effendi, ‘Messages to America’, p. 51

Extracts From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

Say: Tribulation is a horizon unto My Revelation. The day star of grace shineth above it, and sheddeth a light which neither the clouds of men’s idle fancy nor the vain imaginations of the aggressor can obscure.

Follow thou the footsteps of thy Lord, and remember His servants even as He doth remember thee, undeterred by either the clamor of the heedless ones or the sword of the enemy…. Spread abroad the sweet savors of thy Lord, and hesitate not, though it be for less than a moment, in the service of His Cause. The day is approaching when the victory of thy Lord, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Bountiful, will be proclaimed.

‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh’ #17, p. 42

— 40 —

Behold how in this Dispensation the worthless and foolish have fondly imagined that by such instruments as massacre, plunder and banishment they can extinguish the Lamp which the Hand of Divine power hath lit, or eclipse the Day Star of everlasting splendor. How utterly unaware they seem to be of the truth that such adversity is the oil that feedeth the flame of this Lamp! Such is God’s transforming power. He changeth whatsoever He willeth; He verily hath power over all things….

‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh’ #29, p. 72

— 41 —

Say: The fierce gales and whirlwinds of the world and its peoples can never shake the foundation upon which the rocklike stability of My chosen ones is based. Gracious God! What could have prompted these people to enslave and imprison the loved ones of Him Who is the Eternal Truth?… The day, however, is approaching when the faithful will behold the Day Star of justice shining in its full splendor from the Day Spring of glory. Thus instructeth thee the Lord of all being in this, His grievous Prison.

‘Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh’ #162, p. 341

— 42 —

With every fresh tribulation He manifested a fuller measure of Thy Cause, and exalted more highly Thy word.

‘Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh’ #31, p. 37

— 43 —

Should they attempt to conceal His light on the continent, He will assuredly rear His head in the midmost heart of the ocean and, raising His voice, proclaim: “I am the lifegiver of the world!”... And if they cast Him into a darksome pit, they will find Him seated on earth’s loftiest heights calling aloud to all mankind: “Lo, the Desire of the world is come in His majesty, His sovereignty, His transcendent dominion!” And if He be buried beneath the depths of the earth, His Spirit soaring to the apex of heaven shall peal the summons: “Behold ye the coming of the Glory; witness ye the Kingdom of God, the most Holy, the Gracious, the All-Powerful!...”

Bahá’u’lláh, cited in Shoghi Effendi, ‘The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh’, p. 108

— 44 —

At this moment We call to remembrance Our loved ones and bring them the joyous tidings of God’s unfailing grace and of the things that have been provided for them in My lucid Book. Ye have tolerated the censure of the enemies for the sake of My love and have steadfastly endured in My Path the grievous cruelties which the ungodly have inflicted upon you. Unto this I Myself bear witness, and I am the All-Knowing. How vast the number of places that have been ennobled with your blood for the sake of God. How numerous the cities wherein the voice of your lamentation hath been raised and the wailing of your anguish uplifted. How many the prisons into which ye have been cast by the hosts of tyranny. Know ye of a certainty that He will render you victorious, will exalt you among the peoples of the world and will demonstrate your high rank before the gaze of all nations. Surely He will not suffer the reward of His favoured ones to be lost.

‘Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas’, p. 246

— 45 —

Verily God rendereth His Cause victorious at one time through the aid of His enemies and at another by virtue of the assistance of His chosen ones. Concerning those pure and blessed souls, Our Pen of Glory hath revealed that which excelleth the whole world, its treasures and whatsoever existeth therein. Erelong shall the heedless and the doers of wickedness be repaid for that which their hands have wrought.

Bahá’u’lláh, from a Tablet — translated from the Persian

— 46 —

Whatsoever occurreth in the world of being is light for His loved ones and fire for the people of sedition and strife. Even if all the losses of the world were to be sustained by one of the friends of God, he would still profit thereby, whereas true loss would be borne by such as are wayward, ignorant and contemptuous. Although the author¹ of the following saying had intended it otherwise, yet We find it pertinent to the operation of God’s immutable Will:

“Even or odd, thou shalt win the wager.” The friends of God shall win and profit under all conditions, and shall attain true wealth. In fire they remain cold, and from water they emerge dry. Their affairs are at variance with the affairs of men. Gain is their lot, whatever the deal. To this testifieth every wise one with a discerning eye, and every fair-minded one with a hearing ear.

Bahá’u’lláh, from a Tablet — translated from the Persian