Admonitions
The seas of Divine wisdom and Divine utterance have risen under the breath of the breeze of the All-Merciful. Hasten to drink your fill, O men of understanding!
Think not that We have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power. To this beareth witness that which the Pen of Revelation hath revealed. Meditate upon this, O men of insight!
Render thanks unto God for this most gracious favour; offer praise unto Him for this bounty that hath encompassed the heavens and the earth; extol Him for this mercy that hath pervaded all creation.
Hold ye fast unto His statutes and commandments, and be not of those who, following their idle fancies and vain imaginings, have clung to the standards fixed by their own selves, and cast behind their backs the standards laid down by God.
These, verily, are the Laws of God; transgress them not at the prompting of your base and selfish desires.
Observe ye the injunctions laid upon you by Him Who is the Dawning-place of Utterance.
Beware lest ye put away that which is clearly revealed in His Tablet.
Fear God, O ye that perceive.
Reflect, O people, on the grace and blessings of your Lord, and yield Him thanks at eventide and dawn.
Waste not your hours in idleness and sloth, but occupy yourselves with what will profit you and others.
Hold ye fast unto the cord of means and place your trust in God, the Provider of all means.
Arise to serve the Cause of God, in such wise that the cares and sorrows caused by them that have disbelieved in the Dayspring of the Signs of God may not afflict you.
Make not your deeds as snares wherewith to entrap the object of your aspiration, and deprive not yourselves of this Ultimate Objective for which have ever yearned all such as have drawn nigh unto God.
Read ye the Tablets that ye may know what hath been purposed in the Books of God, the All-Glorious, the Ever-Bounteous.
Fear God, and follow not your idle fancies. Nay, rather, follow the bidding of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Wise.
Erelong shall clamorous voices be raised in most lands. Shun them, O My people, and follow not the iniquitous and evil-hearted.
Be not dismayed, O peoples of the world, when the day-star of My beauty is set, and the heaven of My tabernacle is concealed from your eyes. Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word amongst men.
Rejoice not in the things ye possess; tonight they are yours, tomorrow others will possess them.
Reflect, O people! What hath become of your bygone days, your lost centuries?
Lament not in your hours of trial, neither rejoice therein; seek ye the Middle Way which is the remembrance of Me in your afflictions and reflection over that which may befall you in future.
Beware lest, through compassion, ye neglect to carry out the statutes of the religion of God; do that which hath been bidden you by Him Who is compassionate and merciful.
Beware lest ye be hindered by the veils of glory from partaking of the crystal waters of this living Fountain.
Seize ye the chalice of salvation at this dawntide in the name of Him Who causeth the day to break, and drink your fill in praise of Him Who is the All-Glorious, the Incomparable.
Let your joy be the joy born of My Most Great Name, a Name that bringeth rapture to the heart, and filleth with ecstasy the minds of all who have drawn nigh unto God.
Let not your hearts be perturbed, O people, when the glory of My Presence is withdrawn, and the ocean of My utterance is stilled.
Cast away that which ye possess, and, on the wings of detachment, soar beyond all created things.
Beware lest the desires of the flesh and of a corrupt inclination provoke divisions among you.
Be ye as the fingers of one hand, the members of one body.
Take ye hold of the precepts of God with all your strength and power, and abandon the ways of the ignorant.
Follow not the promptings of the self, for it summoneth insistently to wickedness and lust; follow, rather, Him Who is the Possessor of all created things, Who biddeth you to show forth piety, and manifest the fear of God.
Obey ye My commandments, and follow not the ungodly, they who have been reckoned as sinners in God’s Holy Tablet.
... take heed lest ye do aught that may provoke intransigence amongst you.
Take heed lest the world beguile you as it beguiled the people who went before you!
Observe ye the statutes and precepts of your Lord, and walk ye in this Way which hath been laid out before you in righteousness and truth.
Adorn yourselves with the raiment of goodly deeds.
Assist ye the Lord of all creation with works of righteousness, and also through wisdom and utterance.
Fear God, and lift not the hand of injustice and oppression to destroy what He hath Himself raised up; nay, walk ye in the way of God, the True One.
Yield thanks unto Him with joy and radiance, and follow not such as are remote from the Dawning-place of His nearness.
Arise ye, under all conditions, to render service to the Cause, for God will assuredly assist you through the power of His sovereignty which overshadoweth the worlds.
Consort ye then with the followers of all religions, and proclaim ye the Cause of your Lord, the Most Compassionate...
Worship none but God, and, with radiant hearts, lift up your faces unto your Lord, the Lord of all names.
Take heed lest pride deter you from recognizing the Source of Revelation, lest the things of this world shut you out as by a veil from Him Who is the Creator of heaven.
None must contend with those who wield authority over the people; leave unto them that which is theirs, and direct your attention to men’s hearts.
Advance, O people, with snow-white faces and radiant hearts, unto the blest and crimson Spot...
Take heed lest through negligence ye fail to observe that which hath been prescribed unto you by Him Who is the Incomparable, the Gracious.
... be ye of the pure and sanctified.
Fear ye the Merciful, O peoples of the world!
Commit not that which is forbidden you in Our Holy Tablet, and be not of those who rove distractedly in the wilderness of their desires.
Assist ye, O My people, My chosen servants who have arisen to make mention of Me among My creatures and to exalt My Word throughout My realm.
Beware lest ye follow any impious pretender.
Lay hold on this Sure Handle and on the Cord of My mighty and unassailable Cause.
Adorn your heads with the garlands of trustworthiness and fidelity, your hearts with the attire of the fear of God, your tongues with absolute truthfulness, your bodies with the vesture of courtesy.
Cling, O ye people of Bahá, to the cord of servitude unto God, the True One, for thereby your stations shall be made manifest, your names written and preserved, your ranks raised and your memory exalted in the Preserved Tablet. Beware lest the dwellers on earth hinder you from this glorious and exalted station.
Fear God, and be ye of the righteous!
Ask ye that which shall be of profit to you in the Cause of God and His dominion, for the portals of His tender compassion have been opened before all who dwell in heaven and on earth.
Give ear unto the call of Him Who is the Lord of Names, Who proclaimeth unto you from His habitation in the Most Great Prison: "Verily, no God is there but Me, the Powerful, the Mighty, the All-Subduing, the Most Exalted, the Omniscient, the All-Wise."
Beware lest ye hesitate in your acceptance of this Cause -- a Cause before which the Concourse on high and the dwellers of the Cities of Names have bowed down.
Fear God, and be not of those who are shut out as by a veil.
Burn ye away the veils with the fire of My love, and dispel ye the mists of vain imaginings by the power of this Name through which We have subdued the entire creation.
Be watchful lest the concerns and preoccupations of this world prevent you from observing that which hath been enjoined upon you by Him Who is the Mighty, the Faithful.
Be ye the embodiments of such steadfastness amidst mankind that ye will not be kept back from God by the doubts of those who disbelieved in Him when He manifested Himself, invested with a mighty sovereignty.
Take heed lest ye be prevented by aught that hath been recorded in the Book from hearkening unto this, the Living Book, Who proclaimeth the truth: "Verily, there is no God but Me, the Most Excellent, the All-Praised."
Look ye with the eye of equity upon Him Who hath descended from the heaven of Divine will and power, and be not of those who act unjustly.
Let none, in this Day, hold fast to aught save that which hath been manifested in this Revelation. Such is the decree of God, aforetime and hereafter -- a decree wherewith the Scriptures of the Messengers of old have been adorned. Such is the admonition of the Lord, aforetime and hereafter -- an admonition wherewith the preamble to the Book of Life hath been embellished, did ye but perceive it. Such is the commandment of the Lord, aforetime and hereafter; beware lest ye choose instead the part of ignominy and abasement.
Reflect, O people, on that which hath been sent down in truth; ponder thereon, and be not of the transgressors.
Keep ye the statutes and commandments of God; nay, guard them as ye would your very eyes, and be not of those who suffer grievous loss.
Wish not for others what ye wish not for yourselves; fear God, and be not of the prideful.
Reflect upon the end that awaiteth you, and walk not in the ways of the oppressor.
Give ear unto the verses of God which He Who is the sacred Lote-Tree reciteth unto you.
Such are the laws which God hath enjoined upon you, such His commandments prescribed unto you in His Holy Tablet; obey them with joy and gladness, for this is best for you, did ye but know.
Fear ye God, O My servants, one and all.
Pride not yourselves on much reading of the verses or on a multitude of pious acts by night and day...
Read ye the sacred verses in such measure that ye be not overcome by languor and despondency.
Lay not upon your souls that which will weary them and weigh them down, but rather what will lighten and uplift them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses towards the Dawning-place of His manifest signs; this will draw you nearer to God, did ye but comprehend.
Let there be naught in your demeanour of which sound and upright minds would disapprove, and make not yourselves the playthings of the ignorant.
Promote ye the development of the cities of God and His countries, and glorify Him therein in the joyous accents of His well-favoured ones.
... place your trust and confidence in God, the Omniscient, the All-Wise.
Fasten your eyes upon it [that "He shall not be asked of His doings"], that haply the whisperings of the rebellious may not cause you to slip.
Tear the veils asunder in such wise that the inmates of the Kingdom will hear them being rent.
Turn ye, O people, unto that which hath proceeded from My Most Exalted Pen. Should ye inhale therefrom the fragrance of God, set not yourselves against Him, nor deny yourselves a portion of His gracious favour and His manifold bestowals.
Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths.
Take heed that ye do not vacillate in your determination to embrace the truth of this Cause...
With faces beaming with joy, hasten ye unto Him.
This is the changeless Faith of God, eternal in the past, eternal in the future. Let him that seeketh, attain it...
Be ye as firmly settled as the immovable mountain in the Cause of your Lord, the Mighty, the Loving.
Observe ye that which hath been enjoined upon you in this Tablet, and be not of those who overstep its limits.