At one of the darkest periods in the prolonged oppression of the dearly loved, resolutely steadfast friends in Iran, Shoghi Effendi was moved to comfort them in a letter of astounding insight. “It is the shedding of the sacred blood of the martyrs in Persia” he wrote, “which, in this shining era, this resplendent, this gem-studded Bahá’í age, shall change the face of the earth into high heaven and, as revealed in the Tablets, raise up the tabernacle of the oneness of mankind in the very heart of the world, reveal to men’s eyes the reality of the unity of the human race, establish the Most Great Peace, make of this lower realm a mirror for the Abhá Paradise, and establish beyond any doubt before all the peoples of the world the truth of the verse: ‘… the day when the Earth shall be changed into another Earth.’” Reflections like these, in adducing such wondrous future consequences from the horrific suffering to which our Iranian friends are subjected, illuminate the opportunity and the challenge facing us all at this crucial moment in the fortunes of the Cause.
- The Universal House of Justice (Ridvan 1988 Message to the Bahá’ís of the World; Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)
