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Holy Kitab I Aqdas
Texts 1-19
Texts 20-38
Texts 39-57
Texts 58-76
Texts 77-95
Texts 96-114
Texts 115-133
Texts 134-152
Texts 153-171
Texts 172-190
Holy Kitab I Iqan
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Prayers & Meditations by Bahaullah
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
Section 13
Section 14
Section 15
Section 16
Section 17
Section 18
Section 19
Section 20
Section 21
Section 22
Section 23
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Holy Kitab I
Aqdas: Texts
58-76 |
58
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. Thus counselleth you the Pen
of Revelation, if ye be of them that believe.
59
Consider the mercy of God and His gifts. He enjoineth upon you
that which shall profit you, though He Himself can well dispense
with all creatures. Your evil doings can never harm Us, neither
can your good works profit Us. We summon you wholly for the sake
of God. To this every man of understanding and insight will
testify.
60
If ye should hunt with beasts or birds of prey, invoke ye the
Name of God when ye send them to pursue their quarry; for then
whatever they catch shall be lawful unto you, even should ye
find it to have died. He, verily, is the Omniscient, the
All-Informed. Take heed, however, that ye hunt not to excess.
Tread ye the path of justice and equity in all things. Thus
biddeth you He Who is the Dawning-place of Revelation, would
that ye might comprehend.
61
God hath bidden you to show forth kindliness towards My kindred,
but He hath granted them no right to the property of others. He,
verily, is self-sufficient, above any need of His creatures.
62
Should anyone intentionally destroy a house by fire, him also
shall ye burn; should anyone deliberately take another's life,
him also shall ye put to death. Take ye hold of the precepts of
God with all your strength and power, and abandon the ways of
the ignorant. Should ye condemn the arsonist and the murderer to
life imprisonment, it would be permissible according to the
provisions of the Book. He, verily, hath power to ordain
whatsoever He pleaseth.
63
God hath prescribed matrimony unto you. Beware that ye take not
unto yourselves more wives than two. Whoso contenteth himself
with a single partner from among the maidservants of God, both
he and she shall live in tranquillity. And he who would take
into his service a maid may do so with propriety. Such is the
ordinance which, in truth and justice, hath been recorded by the
Pen of Revelation. Enter into wedlock, O people, that ye may
bring forth one who will make mention of Me amid My servants.
This is My bidding unto you; hold fast to it as an assistance to
yourselves.
64
O people of the world! 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.
He, verily, is independent of all His creatures. Take heed not
to stir up mischief in the land after it hath been set in order.
Whoso acteth in this way is not of Us, and We are quit of him.
Such is the command which hath, through the power of truth, been
made manifest from the heaven of Revelation.
65
It hath been laid down in the &Bayan that marriage is dependent
upon the consent of both parties. Desiring to establish love,
unity and harmony amidst Our servants, We have conditioned it,
once the couple's wish is known, upon the permission of their
parents, lest enmity and rancour should arise amongst them. And
in this We have yet other purposes. Thus hath Our commandment
been ordained.
66
No marriage may be contracted without payment of a dowry, which
hath been fixed for city-dwellers at nineteen &mithqals of pure
gold, and for village-dwellers at the same amount in silver.
Whoso wisheth to increase this sum, it is forbidden him to
exceed the limit of ninety-five &mithqals. Thus hath the command
been writ in majesty and power. If he content himself, however,
with a payment of the lowest level, it shall be better for him
according to the Book. God, verily, enricheth whomsoever He
willeth through both heavenly and earthly means, and He, in
truth, hath power over all things.
67
It hath been decreed by God that, should any one of His servants
intend to travel, he must fix for his wife a time when he will
return home. If he return by the promised time, he will have
obeyed the bidding of his Lord and shall be numbered by the Pen
of His behest among the righteous; otherwise, if there be good
reason for delay, he must inform his wife and make the utmost
endeavour to return to her. Should neither of these
eventualities occur, it behoveth her to wait for a period of
nine months, after which there is no impediment to her taking
another husband; but should she wait longer, God, verily, loveth
those women and men who show forth patience. Obey ye My
commandments, and follow not the ungodly, they who have been
reckoned as sinners in God's Holy Tablet. If, during the period
of her waiting, word should reach her from her husband, she
should choose the course that is praiseworthy. He, of a truth,
desireth that His servants and His handmaids should be at peace
with one another; take heed lest ye do aught that may provoke
intransigence amongst you. Thus hath the decree been fixed and
the promise come to pass. If, however, news should reach her of
her husband's death or murder, and be confirmed by general
report, or by the testimony of two just witnesses, it behoveth
her to remain single; then, upon completion of the fixed number
of months, she is free to adopt the course of her choosing. Such
is the bidding of Him Who is mighty and powerful in His command.
68
Should resentment or antipathy arise between husband and wife,
he is not to divorce her but to bide in patience throughout the
course of one whole year, that perchance the fragrance of
affection may be renewed between them. If, upon the completion
of this period, their love hath not returned, it is permissible
for divorce to take place. God's wisdom, verily, hath
encompassed all things. The Lord hath prohibited, in a Tablet
inscribed by the Pen of His command, the practice to which ye
formerly had recourse when thrice ye had divorced a woman. This
He hath done as a favour on His part, that ye may be accounted
among the thankful. He who hath divorced his wife may choose,
upon the passing of each month, to remarry her when there is
mutual affection and consent, so long as she hath not taken
another husband. Should she have wed again, then, by this other
union, the separation is confirmed and the matter is concluded
unless, clearly, her circumstances change. Thus hath the decree
been inscribed with majesty in this glorious Tablet by Him Who
is the Dawning-place of Beauty.
69
If the wife accompany her husband on a journey, and differences
arise between them on the way, he is required to provide her
with her expenses for one whole year, and either to return her
whence she came or to entrust her, together with the necessaries
for her journey, to a dependable person who is to escort her
home. Thy Lord, verily, ordaineth as He pleaseth, by virtue of a
sovereignty that overshadoweth the peoples of the earth.
70
Should a woman be divorced in consequence of a proven act of
infidelity, she shall receive no maintenance during her period
of waiting. Thus hath the day-star of Our commandment shone
forth resplendent from the firmament of justice. Truly, the Lord
loveth union and harmony and abhorreth separation and divorce.
Live ye one with another, O people, in radiance and joy. By My
life! All that are on earth shall pass away, while good deeds
alone shall endure; to the truth of My words God doth Himself
bear witness. Compose your differences, O My servants; then heed
ye the admonition of Our Pen of Glory and follow not the
arrogant and wayward.
71
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. They who eschew iniquity
and error, who adhere to virtue, are, in the sight of the one
true God, among the choicest of His creatures; their names are
extolled by the Concourse of the realms above, and by those who
dwell in this Tabernacle which hath been raised in the name of
God.
72
It is forbidden you to trade in slaves, be they men or women. It
is not for him who is himself a servant to buy another of God's
servants, and this hath been prohibited in His Holy Tablet.
Thus, by His mercy, hath the commandment been recorded by the
Pen of justice. Let no man exalt himself above another; all are
but bondslaves before the Lord, and all exemplify the truth that
there is none other God but Him. He, verily, is the All-Wise,
Whose wisdom encompasseth all things.
73
Adorn yourselves with the raiment of goodly deeds. He whose
deeds attain unto God's good pleasure is assuredly of the people
of &Baha and is remembered before His throne. Assist ye the Lord
of all creation with works of righteousness, and also through
wisdom and utterance. Thus, indeed, have ye been commanded in
most of the Tablets by Him Who is the All-Merciful. He, truly,
is cognizant of what I say. Let none contend with another, and
let no soul slay another; this, verily, is that which was
forbidden you in a Book that hath lain concealed within the
Tabernacle of glory. What! Would ye kill him whom God hath
quickened, whom He hath endowed with spirit through a breath
from Him? Grievous then would be your trespass before His
throne! 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. No sooner did the hosts of
true knowledge appear, bearing the standards of Divine
utterance, than the tribes of the religions were put to flight,
save only those who willed to drink from the stream of
everlasting life in a Paradise created by the breath of the
All-Glorious.
74
God hath decreed, in token of His mercy unto His creatures, that
semen is not unclean. 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. Cleave ye unto the cord of refinement with such tenacity
as to allow no trace of dirt to be seen upon your garments. Such
is the injunction of One Who is sanctified above all refinement.
Whoso falleth short of this standard with good reason shall
incur no blame. God, verily, is the Forgiving, the Merciful.
Wash ye every soiled thing with water that hath undergone no
alteration in any one of the three respects; take heed not to
use water that hath been altered through exposure to the air or
to some other agent. Be ye the very essence of cleanliness
amongst mankind. This, truly, is what your Lord, the
Incomparable, the All-Wise, desireth for you.
75
God hath, likewise, as a bounty from His presence, abolished the
concept of "uncleanness", whereby divers things and peoples have
been held to be impure. He, of a certainty, is the
Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous. Verily, all created things
were immersed in the sea of purification when, on that first day
of &Ridvan, We shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of
Our most excellent Names and Our most exalted Attributes. This,
verily, is a token of My loving providence, which hath
encompassed all the worlds. Consort ye then with the followers
of all religions, and proclaim ye the Cause of your Lord, the
Most Compassionate; this is the very crown of deeds, if ye be of
them who understand.
76
God hath enjoined upon you to observe the utmost cleanliness, to
the extent of washing what is soiled with dust, let alone with
hardened dirt and similar defilement. Fear Him, and be of those
who are pure. Should the garb of anyone be visibly sullied, his
prayers shall not ascend to God, and the celestial Concourse
will turn away from him. Make use of rose-water, and of pure
perfume; this, indeed, is that which God hath loved from the
beginning that hath no beginning, in order that there may be
diffused from you what your Lord, the Incomparable, the
All-Wise, desireth. |
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