The Báb was still in Máh-Kú when He wrote the most detailed
and illuminating of His Tablets to Muhammad Sháh. Prefaced by a laudatory
reference to the unity of God, to His Apostles and to the twelve Imáms;
unequivocal in its assertion of the divinity of its Author and of the
supernatural powers with which His Revelation had been invested; precise in the
verses and traditions it cites in confirmation of so audacious a claim; severe
in its condemnation of some of the officials and representatives of the Sháh’s
administration, particularly of the “wicked and accursed” Husayn Khán; moving
in its description of the humiliation and hardships to which its writer had
been subjected, this historic document resembles, in many of its features, the
Lawh-i-Sultán, the Tablet addressed, under similar circumstances, from the
prison-fortress of Akká by Bahá’u’lláh to Násiri’d-Dín Sháh, and constituting
His lengthiest epistle to any single sovereign.
- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes
By’)
October 30
The love we bear mankind, our conviction that Bahá'u'lláh's
Faith contains the only and the Divine remedy for all its ills, must be
demonstrated today in action by bringing the Cause before the public. No doubt
the majority are not yet able to see its true significance, but they must not
be deprived, through our failure in obligation, of the opportunity of hearing
of it. And there are many precious souls who are seeking for it and ready to
embrace it.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 19 March 1942 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Guidelines for Teaching)
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 19 March 1942 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Guidelines for Teaching)
October 29
Regarding ...'s appeal: the Guardian feels the best course
of action in this matter is to ask both of the believers concerned to forgive
and forget the entire matter. He does not want the friends to form the habit of
taking up a kind of Bahá'í litigation against each other. Their duties to
humanity are too sacred and urgent in these days, when the Cause is struggling
to spread and assert its independence, for them to spend their precious time,
and his precious time, in this way. Ask them, therefore, to unite, forget the
past, and serve as never before.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 22 July 1947 written on
behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and
New Zealand; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Living the Life)
October 28
The Guardian was delighted to hear of your youth group. The
children who are trained in the world-embracing teachings of Bahá'u'lláh cannot
but grow up to be a truly new race of men. He hopes these young people will
prepare themselves for the great task which will face them in the future, that
of helping to rebuild the world with the aid and inspiration of the Bahá'í
teachings.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 25 December 1941 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá'ís of Hobart, Australia; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Baha’i Education)
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 25 December 1941 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá'ís of Hobart, Australia; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Baha’i Education)
October 27
Bahá'u'lláh has said that God will assist all those who
arise in His service. The more you labour for His Faith, the more He will aid
and bless you.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 23 November 1941 written on behalf of
Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá'ís of Quito, Ecuador; The Compilation of
Compilations, vol. II, The Power of Divine Assistance)
October 26
He was pleased to hear that you were able to attend the
Summer School at Geyserville this year, as these institutions are of the
greatest help to the friends and inspire them to carry on their often lonely
pioneer work with renewed zeal.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 22 November 1941 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Centers of Baha’i Learning)
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 22 November 1941 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Centers of Baha’i Learning)
October 25
The Báb introduced a new calendar, known now as the Badí or
Bahá’í calendar. According to this calendar, a day is
the period from sunset to sunset. In the Bayán, the Báb ordained the month of
‘Alá to be the month of fasting, decreed that the day of Naw-Rúz should mark
the termination of that period, and designated Naw-Rúz as the Day of God.
Bahá’u’lláh confirms the Badí calendar wherein Naw-Rúz is designated as a
feast.
Naw-Rúz is the first day of the new year. It coincides with the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, which usually occurs on 21 March. Bahá’u’lláh explains that this feast day is to be celebrated on whatever day the sun passes into the constellation of Aries (i.e. the vernal equinox), even should this occur one minute before sunset. Hence Naw-Rúz could fall on 20, 21, or 22 March, depending on the time of the equinox.
- The Universal House of Justice (‘The Notes section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
Naw-Rúz is the first day of the new year. It coincides with the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, which usually occurs on 21 March. Bahá’u’lláh explains that this feast day is to be celebrated on whatever day the sun passes into the constellation of Aries (i.e. the vernal equinox), even should this occur one minute before sunset. Hence Naw-Rúz could fall on 20, 21, or 22 March, depending on the time of the equinox.
- The Universal House of Justice (‘The Notes section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 24
The winds of test and trial have blown upon our Faith more
than once, and he strongly feels that old believers like yourself should do
everything in their power to protect the younger Bahá'ís, to strengthen their
faith, deepen them in the Covenant, and enable them to take full refuge in the
Will and Testament of the beloved Master, that impregnable fortress He built
for our safety when He Himself should have gone from our sight.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter 26 October 1941 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Youth)
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter 26 October 1941 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Youth)
October 23
Conscious of the state of the National Fund, and realizing
the urgency of the task facing its administrators, I have felt the urge to
devote the offering of the American believers to the International Fund to the
work which is now vitally facing and challenging the friends in the teaching
field. Much as I appreciated the spirit prompting you and your fellow-members
to make this monthly contribution to the Cause at its World Centre, I felt that
it was my duty to consecrate this offering, while the Seven Year Plan is still
operating, to that vital aspect of teaching upon which its success must ultimately
depend. May the friends, in view of the vastness of the field that stretches
before them, and the potentialities of their labours within it, and of the
glowing promise of future blessings which such a labour must yield, rise to
still greater heights of self-sacrifice and evince nobler manifestations of
solidarity in the face of the critical situation that so insistently demands
their support.
Shoghi Effendi (In the handwriting of Shoghi Effendi, appended to a letter dated 26 October 1941 to the Treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, published in "Bahá'í News" 149, December 1941; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Baha’i Funds and Contributions)
Shoghi Effendi (In the handwriting of Shoghi Effendi, appended to a letter dated 26 October 1941 to the Treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, published in "Bahá'í News" 149, December 1941; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Baha’i Funds and Contributions)
October 22
There is no objection to holding meetings in the open air as
long as they are conducted with dignity.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 22 November 1941 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Nineteen Day Feast)
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 22 November 1941 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Nineteen Day Feast)
October 21
It has… become commonplace to regard religion as the product
of human striving after truth, as the outcome of certain climates of thought
and conditions of society. This has been taken, by many non-Bahá'í thinkers, to
the extreme of denying altogether the reality or even the possibility of a
specific revelation of the Will of God to mankind through a human mouthpiece. A
Bahá'í who has studied the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, who has accepted His claim
to be the Manifestation of God for this Age, and who has seen His Teachings at
work in his daily life, knows as the result of rational investigation,
confirmed by actual experience, that true religion, far from being the product
solely of human striving after truth, is the fruit of the creative Word of God
which, with divine power, transforms human thought and action.
(Memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice on Baha’i Scholarship, accompanied by a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice dated 3 January 1979; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)
(Memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice on Baha’i Scholarship, accompanied by a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice dated 3 January 1979; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)
October 20
Ablutions are to be performed by the believer in preparation
for the offering of obligatory prayer. They consist of washing the hands and
face. If water is unavailable, the repetition five times of the specifically
revealed verse is prescribed.
- The Universal House of Justice (‘The 'Notes' section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
- The Universal House of Justice (‘The 'Notes' section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 19
The decline of religious and moral restraints has unleashed
a fury of chaos and confusion that already bears the signs of universal
anarchy. Engulfed in this maelstrom, the Bahá'í world community, pursuing with indefeasible
unity and spiritual force its redemptive mission, inevitably suffers the
disruption of economic, social and civil life which afflicts its fellowmen
throughout the planet. It must also bear particular tribulations.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated Naw-Ruz 1979; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)
- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated Naw-Ruz 1979; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)
October 18
Now is the time when every follower of Bahá'u'lláh must
cling fast to the Covenant of God, resist every temptation to become embroiled
in the conflicts of the world, and remember that he is the holder of a precious
trust, the Message of God which, alone, can banish injustice from the world and
cure the ills afflicting the body and spirit of man. We are the bearers of the
Word of God in this day and, however dark the immediate horizons, we must go
forward rejoicing in the knowledge that the work we are privileged to perform
is God's work and will bring to birth a world whose splendour will outshine our
brightest visions and surpass our highest hopes.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated Naw-Ruz 1979; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)
- The Universal House of Justice (From a message dated Naw-Ruz 1979; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)
October 17
Such a rectitude of conduct must manifest itself, with
ever-increasing potency, in every verdict which the elected representatives of
the Bahá’í community, in whatever capacity they may find themselves, may be
called upon to pronounce. It must be constantly reflected in the business
dealings of all its members, in their domestic lives, in all manner of
employment, and in any service they may, in the future, render their government
or people.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated December 25, 1938, published as ‘The Advent of the Divine Justice’)
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated December 25, 1938, published as ‘The Advent of the Divine Justice’)
October 16
It has become customary in the West to think of science and
religion as occupying two distinct -- and even opposed -- areas of human
thought and activity. This dichotomy can be characterized in the pairs of antitheses:
faith and reason; value and fact. It is a dichotomy which is foreign to Bahá'í
thought…. The principle of the harmony of science and religion means not only
that religious teachings should be studied with the light of reason and
evidence as well as of faith and inspiration, but also that everything in this
creation, all aspects of human life and knowledge, should be studied in the
light of revelation as well as in that of purely rational investigation. In
other words… when studying a subject, [one] should not lock out of his mind any
aspect of truth that is known to him.
(Memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice on Baha’i Scholarship, accompanied by a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice dated 3 January 1979; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)
(Memorandum from the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice on Baha’i Scholarship, accompanied by a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice dated 3 January 1979; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)
October 15
The Bahá'í youth must be taught how to teach the Cause of
God. Their knowledge of the fundamentals of the Faith must be deepened and the
standard of their education in science and literature enhanced. They must
become thoroughly familiar with the language used and the example set by
‘Abdu'l-Bahá in His public addresses throughout the West. They must also be
acquainted with those essential prerequisites of teaching as recorded in the
Holy Books and Tablets.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 9 June 1925 to the
Spiritual Assembly of the East; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The
Importance of Deepening Our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith)
October 14
The Badí calendar is based on the solar year of 365 days, 5
hours, and 50 odd minutes. The year consists of 19 months of 19 days each (i.e.
361 days), with the addition of four extra days (five in a leap year). The Báb
did not specifically define the place for the intercalary days in the new
calendar. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas resolves this question by assigning the “excess”
days a fixed position in the calendar immediately preceding the month of ‘Alá,
the period of fasting.
- The Universal House of Justice (The 'Notes' section of
the Kitab-i-Aqdas)
October 13
With these Assemblies, local as well as national,
harmoniously, vigorously, and efficiently functioning throughout the Baha’i
world, the only means for the establishment of the Supreme House of Justice
will have been assured. And when this Supreme Body will have been properly
established, it will have to consider afresh the whole situation, and lay down
the principle which shall direct, as long as it deems advisable, the affairs of
the Cause.
Pending its establishment, and to insure uniformity throughout the East and throughout the West, all local Assemblies will have to be reelected once a year, during the first day of Ridvan, and the result of polling, if possible, be declared on that day.
- Shoghi Effendi (Baha’i News, no. 4, April 1925)
Pending its establishment, and to insure uniformity throughout the East and throughout the West, all local Assemblies will have to be reelected once a year, during the first day of Ridvan, and the result of polling, if possible, be declared on that day.
- Shoghi Effendi (Baha’i News, no. 4, April 1925)
October 12
The exemption of those who are weak due to illness or
advanced age from offering the Obligatory Prayers and from fasting is explained
in Questions and Answers. Bahá’u’lláh indicates that in “time of ill-health it
is not permissible to observe these obligations” (Q and A 93). He defines old
age, in this context, as being from seventy (Q and A 74). In answer to a
question, Shoghi Effendi has clarified that people who attain the age of
seventy are exempt, whether or not they are weak.
- The Universal House of
Justice (‘The Notes section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 11
If you read the utterances of Bahá'u'lláh and ‘Abdu'l-Bahá
with selflessness and care and concentrate upon them, you will discover truths
unknown to you before and will obtain an insight into the problems that have
baffled the great thinkers of the world. God in His essence can not be
comprehended nor assume bodily form. We can only approach Him through the
knowledge of His Manifestations. I pray that you may drink deep of the
fountainhead of Their Sacred Teachings. I assure you of my prayers for your
recovery and success.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 30 January 1925 to
an individual believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Importance
of Deepening Our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith)
October 10
Bahá’u’lláh confirms the injunction in the Arabic Bayán
regarding the renewal, every nineteen years, of the furnishings of one’s home,
provided one is able to do so. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá relates this ordinance to the
promotion of refinement and cleanliness. He explains that the purpose of the
law is that one should change those furnishings that become old, lose their
lustre and provoke repugnance. It does not apply to such things as rare or
treasured articles, antiques or jewellery.
- The Universal House of Justice (‘The Notes section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
- The Universal House of Justice (‘The Notes section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas’)
October 9
His [the Báb’s] qualities were so rare in their nobility and
beauty, His personality so gentle and yet so forceful, and His natural charm
was combined with so much tact and judgment, that after His Declaration He
quickly became in Persia a widely popular figure. He would win over almost all
with whom He was brought into personal contact, often converting His gaolers to
His Faith and turning the ill-disposed into admiring friends.
- Shoghi Effendi (‘Introduction to Dawn-Breakers’)
- Shoghi Effendi (‘Introduction to Dawn-Breakers’)
October 8
O people! Bahá'u'lláh laid the foundation of universal peace
fifty years ago. He even addressed Epistles to the kings wherein He declared
that war could destroy the foundation of the world of humanity, that peace is
conducive to everlasting life and that dire peril awaited mankind. Also three
years before the outbreak of the world war 'Abdu'l-Bahá travelled to America
and most of Europe, where he raised His voice before all gatherings, societies
and churches, appealing: O ye assemblage of men! The continent of Europe hath
virtually become an arsenal filled with explosives. There are vast stores of
destructive material hidden underground, liable to burst forth at a single
spark, causing the whole earth to quake. O ye men of understanding! Bestir
yourselves that perchance this accumulation of volatile material may not
explode. But the appeal went unheeded and consequently this murderous war broke
out.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet, The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II,
Peace)
October 7
The university training which you are receiving at present
will be of immense help to you in your efforts to present the Message in
intellectual circles. In these days when people are so sceptical about religion
and look with so much contempt towards religious organizations and movements,
there seems to be more need than ever for our young Bahá'ís to be well equipped
intellectually, so that they may be in a position to present the Message in a
befitting way, and in a manner that would convince every unbiased observer of
the effectiveness and power of the Teachings.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated 5 May 1934
written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation
of Compilations, vol. III, Scholarship)
October 6
If it should happen that one of the friends be called upon
to serve his country and people in some capacity, he should apply himself to
his work with heart and soul, and discharge his duties with perfect honesty,
trustworthiness and godliness.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a Tablet; The Compilation of
Compilations, vol. I, Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue)
October 5
We had heard through various channels the wonderful way your
children had grown to speak about the Cause in public. Shoghi Effendi's hope is
that they will, the three of them, become able and devoted speakers on the
Cause and subjects akin to it. To do this properly they will need a firm
foundation of scientific and literary training which fortunately they are
obtaining. It is just as important for the Bahá'í young boys and girls to
become properly educated in colleges of high standing as it is to be
spiritually developed. The mental as well as the spiritual side of the youth
has to be developed before he can serve the Cause efficiently.
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter
dated 28 November 1926 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual
believer; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. III, Scholarship)
October 4
…the question of universal peace, about which Bahá'u'lláh
says that the Supreme Tribunal must be established: although the League of
Nations has been brought into existence, yet it is incapable of establishing
universal peace. But the Supreme Tribunal which Bahá'u'lláh has described will
fulfil this sacred task with the utmost might and power. And His plan is this:
that the national assemblies of each country and nation -- that is to say
parliaments -- should elect two or three persons who are the choicest of that
nation, and are well informed concerning international laws and the relations
between governments and aware of the essential needs of the world of humanity
in this day. The number of these representatives should be in proportion to the
number of inhabitants of that country. The election of these souls who are
chosen by the national assembly, that is, the parliament, must be confirmed by
the upper house, the congress and the cabinet and also by the president or
monarch so these persons may be the elected ones of all the nation and the
government. The Supreme Tribunal will be composed of these people, and all
mankind will thus have a share therein, for every one of these delegates is
fully representative of his nation. [1]
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘Selections from the
Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Peace)
[1] The translation of this sentence has been revised since
the publication of "Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá"
October 3
The only known
record of the Báb’s having been seen by a European belongs to the period of His
persecution when an English physician resident in Tabríz, Dr. Cormick, was
called in by the Persian authorities to pronounce on the Báb’s mental
condition. The doctor’s letter, addressed to a fellow practitioner in an
American mission in Persia, is given in Professor E. G. Browne’s “Materials for
the Study of the Bábí Religion.” “You ask me,” writes the doctor, “for some
particulars of my interview with the founder of the sect known as Bábís.
Nothing of any importance transpired in this interview, as the Báb was aware of
my having been sent with two other Persian doctors to see whether he was of
sane mind or merely a madman, to decide the question whether he was to be put
to death or not. With this knowledge he was loth to answer any questions put to
him… He was a very mild and delicate-looking man, rather small in stature and
very fair for a Persian, with a melodious soft voice, which struck me much.
Being a Siyyid, he was dressed in the habit of that sect, as were also his two
companions. In fact his whole look and deportment went far to dispose one in his
favour. Of his doctrine I heard nothing from his own lips, although the idea
was that there existed in his religion a certain approach to Christianity. He
was seen by some Armenian carpenters, who were sent to make some repairs in his
prison, reading the Bible, and he took no pains to conceal it, but on the
contrary told them of it. Most assuredly the Musulman fanaticism does not exist
in his religion, as applied to Christians, nor is there that restraint of
females that now exists.”
- Shoghi Effendi (‘Introduction to Dawn-Breakers’)
October 2
The time is indeed
ripe for the manifold activities, wherein the servants and handmaids of
Bahá'u'lláh are so devoutly and earnestly engaged, to be harmonized and
conducted with unity, cooperation and efficiency, that the effect of such a
combined and systematized effort, through which an All-powerful Spirit is steadily
pouring, may transcend every other achievement of the past, however glorious it
has been...
- Shoghi Effendi (From a message dated March 5, 1922, published in
"Bahá'í Administration: Selected Messages 1922-1932"; The Compilation
of Compilations, vol. II, National Spiritual Assembly)
October 1
The locus of activity for the bicentenaries is to be at the
local level. The House of Justice
anticipates that in countless places across the world, both rural settings and
urban centres, the friends will find creative ways to honour the Twin
Manifestations Whose lives and sacred missions will be recalled on Their
anniversaries. There might also be an
opportunity for initiatives at the national level, which could include a
gathering to which dignitaries and prominent individuals who have a
relationship with the Faith could be invited.
But the most distinguishing feature of these bicentenaries will be a
tremendous flourishing of activity by Bahá’ís and their friends in local
communities. It should be noted that,
although each anniversary is associated primarily with just one of the
Manifestations, in each case the celebrations ought to encompass both of the
Twin Birthdays, and events may be spread out across the full length of the two
days. Naturally, these Holy Days will
also be marked at the Bahá’í World Centre by those pilgrims, visitors, and
staff who are in the Holy Land at the time.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 18 May 2016
written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all NSAs)
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