THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE
OF JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARIAT
6 July 2015
Transmitted by email
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
This November will witness the first universal observance of
the Twin Holy Birthdays of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh according to the Badí‘
calendar. In anticipation of this special occasion, the Universal House of
Justice is pleased to present you with three Tablets from the forthcoming
volume Days of Remembrance, a collection of Writings from the Supreme Pen
revealed specifically for, or which otherwise pertain to, nine Holy Days, to be
published in English translation. As it is expected that the book will only be
available after mid-2016, to assist the friends in their preparations for this
year’s historic commemoration of the Twin Birthdays the House of Justice has
asked that one Tablet concerning the Birth of the Báb and two concerning the
Birth of Bahá’u’lláh be sent to you in advance, so that arrangements can be
made for their translation into various languages. French, Russian, and Spanish
translations will be sent to the relevant National Spiritual Assemblies in due
course.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
Enclosure
Selections from Days of Remembrance
Birth of the Báb
In the name of the One born on this day, Him Whom God hath made to
be the Herald of His Name, the Almighty, the All-Loving!
This is a Tablet We have addressed unto that night wherein the heavens
and the earth were illumined by a Light that cast its radiance over the entire
creation.
Blessed art thou, O night! For through thee was born the Day of
God, a Day which We have ordained to be the lamp of salvation unto the denizens
of the cities of names, the chalice of victory unto the champions of the arenas
of eternity, and the dawning-place of joy and exultation unto all creation.
Immeasurably exalted is God, the Maker of the heavens, Who hath
caused this Day to speak forth that Name whereby the veils of idle fancy have
been rent asunder, the mists of vain imagining have been dispelled, and His
name “the Self-Subsisting” hath dawned above the horizon of certitude. Through
Thee the choice wine of everlasting life hath been unsealed, the doors of knowledge
and utterance have been unlocked before the peoples of the earth, and the
breezes of the All-Merciful have been wafted over every region. All glory be to
that hour wherein the Treasure of God, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the
All-Wise, hath appeared!
O concourse of earth and heaven! This is that first night, which
God hath made to be a sign of that second night whereon was born He Whom no
praise can befittingly extol and no attribute describe. Well is it with him who
reflecteth upon them both: Verily, he will find their outer reality to
correspond to their inner essence, and will become acquainted with the divine
mysteries that lie enshrined in this Revelation, a Revelation through which the
foundations of misbelief have been shaken, the idols of superstition have been
shattered, and the banner hath been unfurled which proclaimeth, “No God is
there but Him, the Powerful, the Exalted, the Incomparable, the Protector, the
Mighty, the Inaccessible.”
On this night the fragrance of nearness was wafted, the portals of
reunion at the end of days were flung open, and all created things were moved
to exclaim: “The Kingdom is God’s, the Lord of all names, Who is come with
world-embracing sovereignty!” On this night the Concourse on high celebrated the
praise of its Lord, the Exalted, the Most Glorious, and the realities of the
divine names extolled Him Who is the King of the beginning and the end in this
Revelation, a Revelation through whose potency the mountains have hastened unto
Him Who is the All-Sufficing, the Most High, and the hearts have turned towards
the countenance of their Best-Beloved, and the leaves have been stirred into
motion by the breezes of yearning, and the trees have raised their voices in
joyful reply to the call of Him Who is the Unconstrained, and the entire earth
hath trembled with longing in its desire to attain reunion with the Eternal
King, and all things have been made new by that concealed Word which hath
appeared in this mighty Name.
O night of the All-Bountiful! In thee do We verily behold the
Mother Book. Is it a Book, in truth, or rather a child begotten? Nay, by
Myself! Such words pertain to the realm of names, whilst God hath sanctified
this Book above all names. Through it the hidden Secret and the treasured
Mystery have been revealed. Nay, by My life!
All that hath been mentioned pertaineth to the realm of attributes,
whereas the Mother Book standeth supreme above this. Through it have appeared
the manifestations of “There is no God but God” over them all. Nay, while such
things have been proclaimed to all people, in the estimation of thy Lord naught
but His ear is capable of hearing them. Blessed are those that are well
assured!
Whereupon, dumbfounded, the Pen of the Most High cried out: “O
Thou Who art exalted above all names! I adjure Thee by Thy might that
encompasseth the heavens and the earth to exempt me from mentioning Thee, for I
myself have been called into being by virtue of Thy creative power. How, then,
can I depict that which all created things are powerless to describe? And yet,
I swear by Thy glory, were I to proclaim that wherewith Thou hast inspired me,
the entire creation would pass away from joy and ecstasy, how much more then
would it be overwhelmed before the billows of the ocean of Thine utterance in
this most luminous, most exalted and transcendent Spot! Absolve, O Lord, this
faltering Pen from magnifying so august a station, and deal mercifully with me,
O my Possessor and my King. Overlook then my trespasses in Thy presence. Thou,
verily, art the Lord of bounty, the All-Powerful, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most
Generous.”
- Baha’u’llah (From ‘Days of Remembrance’, attached to a letter
dated 6 July 2015 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all
NSAs; ‘Ayyám-i-Tis‘ih, pp. 12–15)
Birth of Bahá’u’lláh
He
is the Most Holy, the Most Exalted, the Most Great.
The Birthday Festival is come, and He Who is the Beauty of God,
the All-Powerful, the All-Compelling, the All-Loving, hath ascended His throne.
Well is it with the one who in this Day hath attained His presence and towards
whom the gaze of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting, hath been
directed. Say: We have celebrated this Festival in the Most Great Prison at a
time when the kings of the earth have risen against Us. Yet the ascendancy of
the oppressor can never frustrate Us, nor can the hosts of the world dismay Us.
Unto this doth the All-Merciful bear witness in this most august station.
Say: Should the quintessence of assurance be dismayed before the
clamour of the peoples of the world? Nay, by His beauty, which sheddeth its
radiance upon all that hath been and all that shall be! This, verily, is the majesty
of the Lord that hath encompassed the entire creation, and this is His
transcendent power that hath pervaded all them that see and all that is seen.
Take fast hold of the cord of His sovereign might and make mention of your
Lord, the Unconstrained, at this dawntide whose light hath laid bare every
hidden secret. Thus hath the tongue of the Ancient of Days spoken on this Day
wherein the choice wine hath been unsealed.
Take heed lest the vain imaginings of them that have disbelieved in God
perturb you, or their idle fancies deter you from this outstretched path.
O people of Bahá! Soar upon the wings of detachment into the
atmosphere of the love of your Lord, the All-Merciful. Arise then to render Him
victorious, as bidden in the Preserved Tablet. Beware lest ye contend with any
of My servants. Bestow upon them the sweet savours of God and His holy
utterances, for through their potency all men will be enabled to turn unto Him.
They that remain heedless of God in this Day are in truth lost in the drunkenness
of their desires and perceive it not. Well is it with the one who, with
lowliness and humility, hath set his face towards the Dayspring of the verses
of his Lord.
It behoveth you to arise and acquaint the people with that which
hath been sent down in the Book of their Lord, the Almighty, the Unconstrained.
Say: Fear ye God and pay no heed to the vain imaginings of them that walk in the
ways of doubt and iniquity. Turn ye with radiant hearts towards the throne of
your Lord, the Possessor of all names. He, verily, shall aid you through the
power of truth. No God is there but Him, the Almighty, the Most Bountiful.
Would ye hasten towards a mere pond, whilst the Most Great Ocean
is stretched out before your eyes? Turn ye wholly unto it, and follow not in
the footsteps of every faithless deceiver. Thus doth the Bird of Eternity
warble upon the branches of Our divine Lote-Tree. By God! A single one of its
melodies sufficeth to enrapture the Concourse on high, and beyond them the
dwellers of the cities of names, and beyond them those who circle round His
Throne at morn and eventide.
Thus have the showers of utterance rained down from the heaven of
the will of your Lord, the All-Merciful.
Draw nigh unto them, O people, and renounce those who idly dispute the
verses that God hath revealed, and who have disbelieved in their Lord when He
came invested with proof and testimony.
- Baha’u’llah (From ‘Days of Remembrance’, attached to a letter
dated 6 July 2015 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all
NSAs; ‘Ayyám-i-Tis‘ih, pp. 45–47)
Birth of Bahá’u’lláh
He
is the Most Holy, the Most Great.
This is the month wherein was born He Who beareth the Most Great
Name, Whose appearance hath caused the limbs of humankind to quake and the dust
of Whose footsteps the Concourse on high and the dwellers of the cities of
names have sought for a blessing. Whereupon they rendered praise unto God and
cried out in joy and exultation. By God! This is the month through which all
other months have been illumined, the month wherein He Who is the hidden Secret
and the well-guarded Treasure hath been made manifest and hath called aloud
amidst all humankind. All dominion belongeth to this newborn Child through Whom
the face of creation hath been wreathed in smiles, and the trees have swayed,
and the oceans have surged, and the mountains have taken flight, and Paradise hath
lifted its voice, and the Rock hath cried out, and all things have exclaimed,
“O concourse of creation! Hasten ye towards the dawning-place of the
countenance of your Lord, the Merciful, the Compassionate!”
This is the month wherein Paradise itself was decked forth with
the splendours of the countenance of its Lord, the All-Merciful, and the
heavenly Nightingale warbled its melody upon the Divine Lote-Tree, and the
hearts of the favoured ones were filled with rapture. But alas the people, for
the most part, are heedless. Blessed be the one who hath recognized Him and
apprehended that which was promised in the Books of God, the Almighty, the
All-Praised; and woe betide him that hath turned aside from the One upon Whom
the Concourse on high have fixed their gaze, Him who hath confounded every
wayward misbeliever.
When once thou hast received this Tablet, intone it in the
sweetest of melodies and say: Praise be to Thee, O my most merciful Lord, for
remembering me in this Tablet whereby the fragrance of the garment of Thy
knowledge was diffused and the oceans of Thy grace were made to surge. I bear
witness that Thou art potent to do as Thou pleasest. No God is there but Thee,
the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
- Baha’u’llah (From ‘Days of Remembrance’, attached to a letter
dated 6 July 2015 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all
NSAs; ‘Má’idiy-i-Ásmání’, vol. 4, p. 342)