July 31

The endowments which distinguish the human race from all other forms of life are summed up in what is known as the human spirit; the mind is its essential quality. These endowments have enabled humanity to build civilizations and to prosper materially. But such accomplishments alone have never satisfied the human spirit, whose mysterious nature inclines it towards transcendence, a reaching towards an invisible realm, towards the ultimate reality, that unknowable essence of essences called God. The religions brought to mankind by a succession of spiritual luminaries have been the primary link between humanity and that ultimate reality, and have galvanized and refined mankind’s capacity to achieve spiritual success together with social progress. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (‘The Promise of World Peace, October 1985)

July 30

Whatever suffering and turmoil the years immediately ahead may hold, however dark the immediate circumstances, the Bahá’í community believes that humanity can confront this supreme trial with confidence in its ultimate outcome. Far from signalizing the end of civilization, the convulsive changes towards which humanity is being ever more rapidly impelled will serve to release the “potentialities inherent in the station of man” and reveal “the full measure of his destiny on earth, the innate excellence of his reality.” 

- The Universal House of Justice  (‘The Promise of World Peace, October 1985)

July 29

Apart from technological factors, unification of the planet is exerting other, even more direct effects on thought. It would be impossible to exaggerate, for example, the transformative impact on global consciousness that has resulted from mass travel on an international scale. Greater still have been the consequences of the enormous migrations that the world has witnessed during the century and a half since the Báb declared His mission. Millions of refugees fleeing from persecution have swept like tidal waves back and forth across the European, African and Asiatic continents, particularly. Amid the suffering such turmoil has caused, one perceives the progressive integration of the world’s races and cultures as the citizenry of a single global homeland. As a result, people of every background have been exposed to the cultures and norms of others about whom their forefathers knew little or nothing, exciting a search for meaning that cannot be evaded. 

(From “One Common Faith”, a document commissioned by and prepared under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice, 2005)

July 28

There is every reason for confidence that the period of history now opening will be far more receptive to efforts to spread Bahá’u’lláh’s message than was the case in the century just ended. All the signs indicate that a sea change in human consciousness is under way. 

(From “One Common Faith”, a document commissioned by and prepared under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice, 2005)

July 27

Social historians of the future, with a perspective far more dispassionate and universal than is presently possible, and benefiting from unimpeded access to all of the primary documentation, will study minutely the transformation that the Master achieved in these early years.[of His Ministry] Day after day, month after month, from a distant exile where He was endlessly harried by the host of enemies surrounding Him, ‘Abdu’l Bahá was able not only to stimulate the expansion of the Persian Bahá’í community, but to shape its consciousness and collective life. The result was the emergence of a culture, however localized, that was unlike anything humanity had ever known. Our century, with all its upheavals and its grandiloquent claims to create a new order, has no comparable example of the systematic application of the powers of a single Mind to the building of a distinctive and successful community that saw its ultimate sphere of work as the globe itself. 

(From ‘Century of Light’, a document prepared under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice and published in 2001)

July 26

‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’ presaged the guidance that would flow from the pen of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in subsequent decades. After the devastating loss that followed the ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, the Persian believers were revived and heartened by a flood of Tablets from the Master, which provided not only the spiritual sustenance they needed, but leadership in finding their way through the turmoil that was undermining the established order of things in their land. These communications, reaching even the smallest villages across the country, responded to the appeals and questions of countless individual believers, bringing guidance, encouragement and assurance. We read, for example, a Tablet addressing believers in the village of Kishih, mentioning by name nearly one hundred and sixty of them. 

(From ‘Century of Light’, a document prepared under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice and published in 2001)

July 25

In Himself, and in the break from the prevailing order which His Revelation brought about, the sacred figure of the Báb was an answer to the prayers and entreaties of the generations that awaited the One foretold by all the Holy Scriptures. With His coming, the eternal Faith of God was renewed and revitalized with extraordinary swiftness. Yet, in the very title He chose for Himself, He signalled that He was the portal to a superior Revelation of which, in the words of Shoghi Effendi, “He considered Himself to be the humble Precursor.” 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 1 June 2018 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies)

July 24

Though your number in each of these cities [USA, 1923] be small and limited, yet by virtue of that Celestial Potency bequeathed to every one of you by our departed Master, you are assured that ere long your small company shall expand and wield such power and influence as no earthly power can ever hope for or attain. Who can doubt that He is ever watching from His Station on high over His scattered fold and is guiding and strengthening His faithful lovers who toil and labor for the fulfilment of His word and the realization of His purpose for mankind? 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 8 January 1923; Star of the West, vol. 14, no. 2, May 1923; Baha’i News, no. 72, April 1933)

July 23

What impressed him (Shoghi Effendi) most in the account of your services was the statement that the old and the young Baha’is are firmly united and cooperating in bearing the burden of the Faith in that locality. Nothing will attract God’s blessings and grace more than the unity of the friends, and nothing is more destructive of their highest purpose than divisions and misunderstandings. Cling therefore to unity if you desire to succeed and abide by the will of your Lord Baha’u’llah; for that is the true objective of His Mission in this world.  

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 11 October 1932 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Spiritual Assembly of West Englewood, New Jersey; Baha’i News, no. 71, February 1933)

July 22

Before undertaking such a task, [teaching project] however, it is necessary that they should deepen their knowledge of the Teaching. They should learn to study the words for themselves and both grasp their significance and also become imbued with their spirit. The hope of Shoghi Effendi is not only to increase the number of the friends but also to have true and more understanding Baha’is. The task of the teachers is to produce such efficient servants for our beloved Faith. ... These nine months, during which the Guardian has asked the friends to discard Feast Days, are meant to be months of mourning for the passing away of the Greatest Holy Leaf. The friends should also use them as a period of redoubled energy in serving the Cause, in expression of our deep love for her as well as for the Cause for which she suffered so much.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 18 October 1932 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; Baha'i News, no. 71, February 1933)

July 21

The friends have a great duty, first towards the Cause and then towards society at large. Baha’u’llah has come to the world with a divine Message and devoted all His life and withstood all forms of persecution in the hope of establishing it firmly. We are now the trustees of that Mission. It is for us to bring that task begun by Baha’u’llah to a final consummation. Should we fail, we have been untrue to our Lord and also remained deaf to the cry of humanity seeking salvation.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 15 November 1931 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; Baha'i News, no. 71, February 1933)

July 20

The Internet makes it possible for Bahá’í and Bahá’í-inspired content to become accessible to a wide audience. In this connection, the House of Justice has encouraged the strengthening of the official Bahá’í presence on the World Wide Web, and it has been pleased to see the many advances made, especially in recent years, and looks forward to the further unfoldment of this process. Beyond that, many believers around the world, each according to his or her circumstances and in coherence with other endeavours of the community, use the Internet as a medium for promoting Bahá’u’lláh’s vision of a new World Order, and it is natural for the friends to explore different ways to do so. However, given that the Internet allows for the instantaneous dissemination of content among growing multitudes, wisdom and self-discipline are required lest the significance or dignity of the Teachings become compromised by an unbecoming, inaccurate, or trivialized presentation. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 9 October 2015 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly)

July 19

…the greatness of this Day, this “matchless Day” extolled by Bahá’u’lláh, is evident from the fact that its advent was announced by two divine Manifestations, Whose Birthdays are “accounted as one in the sight of God”. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 1 June 2018 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies)

July 18

In this year’s Ridván message, [2018] the House of Justice referred to the heroism of the Báb and His followers, the stirring accounts of whose lives are sure to be revisited and retold in the coming months. In keeping with the overall approach to this bicentenary, it will be important to reflect on the purpose of calling to mind these remarkable narratives, which possess a merit far beyond an exploration of history. They enable the friends, who are occupied with responding to the needs of the Cause in this day, to draw inspiration and courage from the sacrifices of the dawn-breakers. They assist the company of believers to realize that, by consecrating themselves to the acts of service required in this age, they are emulating the noble qualities of their spiritual forebears. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 1 June 2018 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies)

July 17

The House of Justice appreciates that many of the voters at a district election may have a limited acquaintance with the believers of the area, although naturally they will do all they can during the year to follow the news of the work of the Faith and the activities of their fellow believers. All that any voter can do is to vote for those among the believers who are known to him either personally or by reputation, trusting in God to produce ultimately the best result for the Faith.

- The Universal House of justice  (From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, 14 February 1982; ‘Guidance on Unit Conventions’, Baha’i Community of Canada: http://www.uc-cc.bahai.ca/en/guidance/)

July 16

The present condition of the world -- its economic instability, social dissensions, political dissatisfaction and international distrust -- should awaken the youth from their slumber and make them inquire what the future is going to bring. It is surely they who will suffer most if some calamity sweep over the world. They should therefore open their eyes to the existing conditions, study the evil forces that are at work and then with a concerted effort arise and bring about the necessary reforms -- reforms that shall contain within their scope the spiritual as well as social and political phases of human life. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 13 March 1932 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; Baha’i News, no. 68, November 1932)

July 15

In the blood of the unnumbered martyrs of Persia lay the seed of the Divinely-appointed Administration which, though transplanted from its native soil, is now budding out, under your loving care, into a new order, destined to overshadow all mankind. For great as have been the attainments and unforgettable the services of the pioneers of the heroic age of the Cause in Persia, the contribution which their spiritual descendants, the American believers, the champion builders of the organic structure of the Cause, are now making towards the fulfilment of the Plan which must usher in the golden age of the Cause is no less meritorious in this strenuous period of its history. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated March 21, 1932; Baha’i News, no. 66, September 1932)

July 14

Shoghi Effendi wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated Dec. 8th, 1931. You mention the need of the Cause for capable and enlightened souls who would arise and help the promotion of our beloved Faith and the carrying through of its divine plans. This has been for long the earnest prayer of Shoghi Effendi but for some reason or other it does not seem to be realized. It may be because we have failed to do our best, in living the life, and promoting the spread of the Message to the best of our ability. We have first to create the material with which we have to work and then hope to succeed. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 20 February 1932 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; Baha’i News, no. 61, April 1932)

July 13

… As you know, technological advancement is integral to the emergence of a global civilization. Indeed, the Internet is a manifestation of a development anticipated by the Guardian when, in describing the characteristics of a unified humanity, he foresaw that a “mechanism of world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity.” Yet, learning to utilize the Internet in a manner conducive to material and spiritual progress is an immense challenge. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 9 October 2015 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to a National Spiritual Assembly)

July 12

…the Holy Seed [the Báb] of infinite preciousness, holding within itself incalculable potentialities representing the culmination of the centuries-old process of the evolution of humanity through the energies released by the series of progressive Revelations starting with Adam and concluded by the Revelation of the Seal of the Prophets, marked by the successive appearance of the branches, leaves, buds, blossoms and plucked, after six brief years by the hand of destiny, ground in the mill of martyrdom and oppression but yielding the oil whose first flickering light cast upon the somber, subterranean walls of the Síyáh-Chál of Tihrán, whose fire gathered brilliance in Baghdád and shone in full resplendency in its crystal globe in Adrianople, whose rays warmed and illuminated the fringes of the American, European, Australian continents through the tender ministerings of the Center of the Covenant, whose radiance is now overspreading the surface of the globe during the present Formative Age, whose full splendor is destined in the course of future milleniums to suffuse the entire planet. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 July 1950; ‘Citadel of Faith’)

July 11

The embryonic Faith, maturing three years after His [the Báb] martyrdom, traversing the period of infancy in the course of the Heroic Age of the Faith is now steadily progressing towards maturity in the present Formative Age, destined to attain full stature in the Golden Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 July 1950; ‘Citadel of Faith’)

July 10

Immediately before and soon after this humiliating treatment meted out to the Bab two highly significant incidents occurred, incidents that cast an illuminating light on the mysterious circumstances surrounding the opening phase of His martyrdom. The farrash-bashi had abruptly interrupted the last conversation which the Bab was confidentially having in one of the rooms of the barracks with His amanuensis Siyyid Husayn, and was drawing the latter aside, and severely rebuking him, when he was thus addressed by his Prisoner: "Not until I have said to him all those things that I wish to say can any earthly power silence Me. Though all the world be armed against Me, yet shall it be powerless to deter Me from fulfilling, to the last word, My intention." To the Christian Sam Khan -- the colonel of the Armenian regiment ordered to carry out the execution -- who, seized with fear lest his act should provoke the wrath of God, had begged to be released from the duty imposed upon him, the Bab gave the following assurance: "Follow your instructions, and if your intention be sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve you of your perplexity." 
- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

July 9

[Following the government tribunal] The heaven-cradled Crown-Prince was at that time governor of Ádhirbáyján. He pronounced no sentence with regard to the Báb, nor did he desire to interfere with Him. The [religious] doctors, however, considered it advisable at least to inflict a severe chastisement, and beating was decided on. But none of the corps of farráshes [attendants] would agree to become the instruments of the infliction of this punishment. So Mírzá ‘Alí-Aṣghar the Shaykhu’l-Islám, [a lead clergy] who was one of the noble Siyyids, brought Him [the Báb] to his own house and applied the rods with his own hand. After this they sent the Báb back to [Fortress of] Chihríq and subjected Him to a strict confinement. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘A Traveler’s Narrative’)

July 8

When the Báb reached Tabríz they brought Him after some days before the government tribunal…[composed of many powerful religious leaders] … and several other divines were present. They asked concerning the claims of the Báb. He advanced the claim of Mihdí-hood [Promised One of Muslims]; whereon a mighty tumult arose. Eminent doctors in overwhelming might compassed Him on all sides, and such was the onset of orthodoxy that it had been no great wonder if a mere youth had not withstood the mountain of Elburz. They demanded proof. Without hesitation He recited texts, saying, “This is the permanent and most mighty proof.” They criticized His grammar. He adduced arguments from the Qur’án, setting forth therefrom instances of similar infractions of the rules of grammar. So the assembly broke up and the Báb returned to His own dwelling [in prison]. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (‘A Traveler’s Narrative’)

July 7

The Order eulogized and announced in His [the Báb’s] writings, whose laws Bahá’u’lláh subsequently revealed in the Most Holy Book, whose features ‘Abdu’l-Bahá delineated in His Testament, is now passing through its embryonic stage through the emergence of the initial institutions of the world Administrative Order in the five continents of the globe. The clarion call sounded in the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá, summoning the peoples of the West to forsake their homes and proclaim His message, was nobly answered by the communities of the Western Hemisphere headed by the valorous, stalwart American believers, the chosen vanguard of the all-conquering, irresistibly marching army of the Faith in the western world. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 July 1950; ‘Citadel of Faith’)

July 6

The creative energies released at the hour of the birth of His [the Báb’s] Revelation, endowing mankind with the potentialities of the attainment of maturity are deranging, during the present transitional age, the equilibrium of the entire planet as the inevitable prelude to the consummation in world unity of the coming of age of the human race. The portentous but unheeded warnings addressed to kings, princes, ecclesiastics are responsible for the successive overthrow of fourteen monarchies of East and West, the collapse of the institution of the Caliphate, the virtual extinction of the Pope’s temporal sovereignty, the progressive decline in the fortunes of the ecclesiastical hierarchies of the Islámic, Christian, Jewish, Zoroastrian, and Hindu Faiths. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 July 1950; ‘Citadel of Faith’)

July 5

Poignantly call to mind the circumstances attending the last act consummating the tragic ministry of the Master-Hero [the Báb] of the most sublime drama in the religious annals of mankind, signalizing the most dramatic event of the most turbulent period of the Heroic Age of the Bahá’í Dispensation, destined to be recognized by posterity as the most precious, momentous sacrifice in the world’s spiritual history. Recall the peerless tributes paid to His [the Báb's] memory by the Founder of the Faith [Baha’u’llah], acclaiming Him Monarch of God’s Messengers, the Primal Point round Whom the realities of all the Prophets circle in adoration. Profoundly stirred by the memory of the agonies He suffered, the glad-tidings He announced, the warnings He uttered, the forces He set in motion, the adversaries He converted, the disciples He raised up, the conflagrations He precipitated, the legacy He left of faith and courage, the love He inspired. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 July 1950; ‘Citadel of Faith’)

July 4

Moved to share with assembled representatives of American Bahá’í Community gathered beneath the dome of the Most Holy House of Worship [Temple in Chicago] in the Bahá’í world, feelings of profound emotion evoked by this historic occasion of the world-wide commemoration of the First Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Blessed Báb, Prophet and Herald of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, Founder of the Dispensation marking the culmination of the six thousand year old Adamic Cycle, Inaugurator of the five thousand century Bahá’í Cycle. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 4 July 1950; ‘Citadel of Faith’)

July 3

To emperors, kings, princes and potentates, to rulers, governments, clergy and peoples, whether of the East or of the West, whether Christian, Jew, Muslim, or Zoroastrian, He addressed, for well-nigh fifty years, and in the most tragic circumstances, these priceless pearls of knowledge and wisdom that lay hid within the ocean of His matchless utterance. Forsaking fame and fortune, accepting imprisonment and exile, careless of ostracism and obloquy, submitting to physical indignities and cruel deprivations, He, the Vicegerent of God on earth, suffered Himself to be banished from place to place and from country to country, till at length He, in the Most Great Prison, offered up His martyred son as a ransom for the redemption and unification of all mankind. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 28 March 1941; published as ‘The Promised Day Is Come’)

July 2

Beloved friends! Well nigh a hundred years have elapsed since the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh dawned upon the world—a Revelation, the nature of which, as affirmed by Himself, “none among the Manifestations of old, except to a prescribed degree, hath ever completely apprehended.” For a whole century God has respited mankind, that it might acknowledge the Founder of such a Revelation, espouse His Cause, proclaim His greatness, and establish His Order. In a hundred volumes, the repositories of priceless precepts, mighty laws, unique principles, impassioned exhortations, reiterated warnings, amazing prophecies, sublime invocations, and weighty commentaries, the Bearer of such a Message has proclaimed, as no Prophet before Him has done, the Mission with which God had entrusted Him. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 28 March 1941; published as ‘The Promised Day Is Come’)

July 1

…there should be room within the scope of Baha’i scholarship to accommodate not only those who are interested in theological issues and in the historical origins of the Faith, but also those who are interested in relating the Baha’i Teachings to their field of academic or professional interest, as well as those believers who may lack formal academic qualifications but who have, through their perceptive study of the Teachings, acquired insights which are of interest to others. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 10 October 1993 written on behalf of the Universal House of justice to an individual believer; included in a compilation prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice: ‘Issues Related to the Study of the Baha’i Faith’)