October 31

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Cause of the Báb was the prominent role of the youth who in an astonishing way entered its vanguard, who demonstrated a profound understanding of the implications of the new era, and who taught everyone the lessons of courage and valour. The Báb Himself was twenty-five when He declared His mission. Quddús was twenty-two when he became adorned with the mantle of faith; Táhirih was in her twenties when she accepted the Cause of her Lord; and Anís was a young man of tender age when he became a believer. Recall the fearless Zaynab, who in the prime of youth became a legend, a heroine in both this world and the next. The names of the Iranian heroes of this new movement are today immortalized throughout the world, and the courage of those deathless souls is an example for all. The young standard-bearers of the community of the Greatest Name in every land serve humanity in memory of those courageous souls and make sacrificial efforts for the betterment of the world and the progress of society, endeavouring to acquire spiritual characteristics and engaging in the education of children and junior youth. In Iran too, despite countless hardships, the apple of our eyes are, with pure hearts free from resentment or enmity, valiantly arising in the discharge of their spiritual obligations, acquiring knowledge and the sciences and arts, earning a livelihood, establishing families, laying the foundations of future society upon the strong pillars of faith, and placing service to humanity at the centre of their lives. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 24 October 2019 to the Baha’is in Iran; authorized translation from Persian)

October 29

The appearance of the Exalted One [the Báb] was an invitation to knowledge and rationality, to generosity and compassion, to truthfulness and social justice. The concepts and ideas that He brought breathed a new spirit into the tired body of the world. He fulfilled the prophecies of old and gave new form to the practices of the past. He discarded superstition and nurtured reason. He began a new stage in the progress and transformation of the world of humanity and, in the first instance, invited His own compatriots to participate in the process of renewal. The gentleness of His Being and the heavenly power of His words instantly attracted those who associated with Him, and the truth of His utterances and the appeal of His teachings led, with miraculous speed, to the awakening and consciousness of the people. In a short while, His Cause spread throughout Iran and the fire of the love of God was kindled within diverse strata of that society. A great many souls from a variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds—men and women, young and old, rich and poor, merchants and traders, thinkers and writers, clerics and even royalty, in cities and in villages—joined the company of His followers and took to heart His call to build a society founded on justice and free from tyranny and oppression. The number of sincere leaders of religion and divines who accepted His Cause and embraced His truth is astounding, and included Vaḥíd, who was among the most learned men of the country and the confidant and representative of the King commissioned to investigate the truth about the new Revelation. According to the scholars and orientalists of the time, large multitudes among the people of Iran became the Báb’s followers and devotees and evinced matchless valour in their commitment to their newfound faith. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 24 October 2019 to the Baha’is in Iran; authorized translation from Persian)

October 27

Bahá’u’lláh designated ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, His eldest Son, as His Successor and the Interpreter of His Teachings. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His turn appointed His eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, to succeed Him as interpreter of the holy Writ and Guardian of the Cause. The interpretations of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi are considered divinely guided and are binding on the Bahá’ís.

The existence of authoritative interpretations does not preclude the individual from engaging in the study of the Teachings and thereby arriving at a personal interpretation or understanding. A clear distinction is, however, drawn in the Bahá’í Writings between authoritative interpretation and the understanding that each individual arrives at from a study of its Teachings. Individual interpretations based on a person’s understanding of the Teachings constitute the fruit of man’s rational power and may well contribute to a greater comprehension of the Faith. Such views, nevertheless, lack authority. In presenting their personal ideas, individuals are cautioned not to discard the authority of the revealed words, not to deny or contend with the authoritative interpretation, and not to engage in controversy; rather they should offer their thoughts as a contribution to knowledge, making it clear that their views are merely their own. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (The ‘Notes’ section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

October 25

Within the walls of that same fortress [Máh-Kú] the Bayán (Exposition)—that monumental repository of the laws and precepts of the new Dispensation and the treasury enshrining most of the Báb’s references and tributes to, as well as His warning regarding, “Him Whom God will make manifest”—was revealed. Peerless among the doctrinal works of the Founder of the Bábí Dispensation; consisting of nine Váhids (Unities) of nineteen chapters each, except the last Váhid comprising only ten chapters; not to be confounded with the smaller and less weighty Arabic Bayán, revealed during the same period; fulfilling the Muhammadan prophecy that “a Youth from Bani-Háshim … will reveal a new Book and promulgate a new Law;” wholly safeguarded from the interpolation and corruption which has been the fate of so many of the Báb’s lesser works, this Book, of about eight thousand verses, occupying a pivotal position in Bábí literature, should be regarded primarily as a eulogy of the Promised One rather than a code of laws and ordinances designed to be a permanent guide to future generations. This Book at once abrogated the laws and ceremonials enjoined by the Qur’án regarding prayer, fasting, marriage, divorce and inheritance, and upheld, in its integrity, the belief in the prophetic mission of Muhammad, even as the Prophet of Islám before Him had annulled the ordinances of the Gospel and yet recognized the Divine origin of the Faith of Jesus Christ. It moreover interpreted in a masterly fashion the meaning of certain terms frequently occurring in the sacred Books of previous Dispensations such as Paradise, Hell, Death, Resurrection, the Return, the Balance, the Hour, the Last Judgment, and the like. Designedly severe in the rules and regulations it imposed, revolutionizing in the principles it instilled, calculated to awaken from their age-long torpor the clergy and the people, and to administer a sudden and fatal blow to obsolete and corrupt institutions, it proclaimed, through its drastic provisions, the advent of the anticipated Day, the Day when “the Summoner shall summon to a stern business,” when He will “demolish whatever hath been before Him, even as the Apostle of God demolished the ways of those that preceded Him.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

October 23

The term “Mother Book” is generally used to designate the central Book of a religious Dispensation. In the Qur’án and Islamic Hadíth, the term is used to describe the Qur’án itself. In the Bábí Dispensation, the Bayán is the Mother Book, and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas is the Mother Book of the Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh. Further, the Guardian in a letter written on his behalf has stated that this concept can also be used as a “collective term indicating the body of the Teachings revealed by Bahá’u’lláh”. This term is also used in a broader sense to signify the Divine Repository of Revelation. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (The ‘Notes’ section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

October 21

The Guardian wishes you, therefore, to pray, and to supplicate the Almighty that He may give you a fuller measure of His grace; that through it your spiritual energies may be quickened and that you may become more imbued with that spirit which must needs animate, sustain and strengthen every sincere and true follower of the Faith. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 13 March 1934 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; compilation: ‘Prayer and Devotional Life’ prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, February 2019)

October 19

The Twin Luminaries of this resplendent age have taught us this: Prayer is the essential spiritual conversation of the soul with its Maker, direct and without intermediation. It is the spiritual food that sustains the life of the spirit.  Like the morning’s dew, it brings freshness to the heart and cleanses it, purifying it from attachments of the insistent self. It is a fire that burns away the veils and a light that leads to the ocean of reunion with the Almighty. On its wings does the soul soar in the heavens of God and draw closer to the divine reality. Upon its quality depends the development of the limitless capacities of the soul and the attraction of the bounties of God, but the prolongation of prayer is not desirable.

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 18 December 2014 to the Bahá’ís in Iran; compilation: ‘Prayer and Devotional Life’ prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, February 2019)

October 17

The Sadratu’l-Muntahá: Literally “the furthermost Lote-Tree”, translated by Shoghi Effendi as “the Tree beyond which there is no passing”. This is used as a symbol in Islám, for example in the accounts of Muhammad’s Night Journey, to mark the point in the heavens beyond which neither men nor angels can pass in their approach to God, and thus to delimit the bounds of divine knowledge as revealed to mankind. Hence it is often used in the Bahá’í Writings to designate the Manifestation of God Himself. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (The ‘Notes’ section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

October 15

This evening, I personally have had a most interesting conversation with Dr. Habíb of Kermanshah who is now on a visit to Shoghi Effendi with his wife and little girl. He was telling us of the continued fanaticism of the Moslems of Persia—and how during two periods of the year especially, the fanatical Mullahs preach against the Bahá’ís from their pulpits—saying to the ignorant “No matter what evil things you have done during your life, or what sins you have committed, if you kill a Bahá’í who is an enemy of Islam, or even if you take his property or severely injure him, all your own sins will be wiped out and forgiven for the sake of this good deed of destroying an enemy of the Faith!!”—in this way they incite the people to deeds of violence and persecution. He said that the Bahá’í teachings are spreading rapidly amongst the more educated classes—but it is difficult to teach the very poor and ignorant fanatical people—tho’ when they do become Believers, they are very strong and faithful. The 2 periods of particular danger for the Bahá’ís in Persia are the fast month and the period of Moharram—which lasts for 8 weeks.

(Ethel J. Rosenberg, from a letter dated 11 January 1927, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘Arohanui: Letters from Shoghi Effendi to New Zealand’)

October 13

He is very pleased to know that you are faithfully working for peace and harmony amongst the friends; and he prays that you may be blessed in your endeavours and be inspired and guided to clear all misunderstandings that may arise; and may help bring about that spirit of unity which is so essential to the life and growth of the Cause. There is no doubt that difficulties will always arise; but if met in the spirit of earnest and selfless devotion and purity of motive all problems will be solved and we shall emerge from every difficulty spiritually stronger and wiser. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 24 February 1923 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; ‘Unfolding Destiny’)

October 11

The light which the Manifestations of God in every age shed upon the material and spiritual life of humanity discloses truths, whose very conception is impossible before the appearance of those Manifestations. Those Teachers illumine the essential relationships on which the progress of the world and its inhabitants depends and create the instruments for the attainment of that progress. Their appearance makes manifest the treasures hidden in the world of being, and Their teachings bring with them the precious gift of a new stage of unity. They encourage humankind once again to acquire spiritual qualities and to attain human perfections, so that through the confirmations of God and its own endeavours, it can lay the foundations of its own felicity. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message to the Baha’is in Iran dated 24 October 2019, authorized translation)

October 9

“For a number of years”, Bahá’u’lláh states in one of His Tablets, “petitions reached the Most Holy Presence from various lands begging for the laws of God, but We held back the Pen ere the appointed time had come.” Not until twenty years from the birth of His Prophetic Mission in the Síyáh-Chál of Ṭihrán had elapsed did Bahá’u’lláh reveal the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Repository of the laws of His Dispensation. Even after its revelation the Aqdas was withheld by Him for some time before it was sent to the friends in Persia. This divinely purposed delay in the revelation of the basic laws of God for this age, and the subsequent gradual implementation of their provisions, illustrate the principle of progressive revelation which applies even within the ministry of each Prophet. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (The ‘Notes’ section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

October 7

One day the Báb asked that some honey be purchased for Him. The price at which it had been bought seemed to Him exorbitant. He refused it and said: "Honey of a superior quality could no doubt have been purchased at a lower price. I who am your example have been a merchant by profession. It behoves you in all your transactions to follow in My way. You must neither defraud your neighbour nor allow him to defraud you. Such was the way of your Master. The shrewdest and ablest of men were unable to deceive Him, nor did He on His part choose to act ungenerously towards the meanest and most helpless of creatures." He insisted that the attendant who had made that purchase should return and bring back to Him a honey superior in quality and cheaper in price. 

(Cited in "The Dawn-Breakers: Nabil's Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation", trans. and ed. Shoghi Effendi; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, Trustworthiness)

October 5

In one of His Tablets written before the First World War (1914-1918), ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that Bahá’u’lláh’s reference to having seen the banks of the Rhine “covered with gore” related to the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871), and that there was more suffering to come.

In God Passes By Shoghi Effendi states that the “oppressively severe treaty” that was imposed on Germany following its defeat in the First World War “provoked ‘the lamentations’” of Berlin “which half a century before, had been ominously prophesied”. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (The ‘Notes’ section of the Kitab-i-Aqdas)

October 3

The Universal House of Justice, beyond its function as the enactor of legislation, has been invested with the more general functions of protecting and administering the Cause, solving obscure questions and deciding upon matters that have caused difference.... 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a letter dated 7 December 1969, published in "Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1968-1973"; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, The Covenant)

October 1

The fact that you had a course on 'Bahá'í character' pleased him very much, as he considers one of the greatest obligations of your generation of believers is to live a Bahá'í life; you must demonstrate, by your high moral standards, your courtesy, your integrity and nobility, that our Faith, is not one of words but truly changes the heart and conduct of its adherents. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 19 September 1946 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the Louhelen School Junior Youth Session, U.S.A.; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Living the Life)