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The tenth Glad-Tidings |
As a token of grace from God, the Revealer of this Most Great |
Announcement, We have removed from the Holy Scriptures and Tablets the law |
prescribing the destruction of books. |
The eleventh Glad-Tidings |
It is permissible to study sciences and arts, but such sciences as are |
useful and would redound to the progress and advancement of the people. |
Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Ordainer, the All-Wise. |
The twelfth Glad-Tidings |
It is enjoined upon every one of you to engage in some form of occupation, |
such as crafts, trades and the like. We have graciously exalted your |
engagement in such work to the rank of worship unto God, the True One. |
Ponder ye in your hearts the grace and the blessings of God and render |
thanks unto Him at eventide and at dawn. Waste not your time in idleness |
and sloth. Occupy yourselves with that which profiteth yourselves and |
others. Thus hath it been decreed in this Tablet from whose horizon the |
day-star of wisdom and utterance shineth resplendent. |
The most despised of men in the sight of God are those who sit idly and |
beg. Hold ye fast unto the cord of material means, placing your whole |
trust in God, the Provider of all means. When anyone occupieth himself in |
a craft or trade, such occupation itself is regarded in the estimation of |
God as an act of worship; and this is naught but a token of His infinite |
and all-pervasive bounty. |
The thirteenth Glad-Tidings |
The men of Godâs House of Justice have been charged with the affairs of |
the people. They, in truth, are the Trustees of God among His servants and |
the daysprings of authority in His countries. |
O people of God! That which traineth the world is Justice, for it is |
upheld by two pillars, reward and punishment. These two pillars are the |
sources of life to the world. Inasmuch as for each day there is a new |
problem and for every problem an expedient solution, such affairs should |
be referred to the Ministers of the House of Justice that they may act |
according to the needs and requirements of the time. They that, for the |
sake of God, arise to serve His Cause, are the recipients of divine |
inspiration from the unseen Kingdom. It is incumbent upon all to be |
obedient unto them. All matters of State should be referred to the House |
of Justice, but acts of worship must be observed according to that which |
God hath revealed in His Book. |
O people of Bahá! Ye are the dawning-places of the love of God and the |
daysprings of His loving-kindness. Defile not your tongues with the |
cursing and reviling of any soul, and guard your eyes against that which |
is not seemly. Set forth that which ye possess. If it be favourably |
received, your end is attained; if not, to protest is vain. Leave that |
soul to himself and turn unto the Lord, the Protector, the |
Self-Subsisting. Be not the cause of grief, much less of discord and |
strife. The hope is cherished that ye may obtain true education in the |
shelter of the tree of His tender mercies and act in accordance with that |
which God desireth. Ye are all the leaves of one tree and the drops of one |
ocean. |
The fourteenth Glad-Tidings |
It is not necessary to undertake special journeys to visit the |
resting-places of the dead. If people of substance and affluence offer the |
cost of such journeys to the House of Justice, it will be pleasing and |
acceptable in the presence of God. Happy are they that observe His |
precepts. |
The fifteenth Glad-Tidings |
Although a republican form of government profiteth all the peoples of the |
world, yet the majesty of kingship is one of the signs of God. We do not |
wish that the countries of the world should remain deprived thereof. If |
the sagacious combine the two forms into one, great will be their reward |
in the presence of God. |
In former religions such ordinances as holy war, destruction of books, the |
ban on association and companionship with other peoples or on reading |
certain books had been laid down and affirmed according to the exigencies |
of the time; however, in this mighty Revelation, in this momentous |
Announcement, the manifold bestowals and favours of God have overshadowed |
all men, and from the horizon of the Will of the Ever-Abiding Lord, His |
infallible decree hath prescribed that which We have set forth above. |
We yield praise unto Godâhallowed and glorified be Heâfor whatsoever He |
hath graciously revealed in this blessed, this glorious and incomparable |
Day. Indeed if everyone on earth were endowed with a myriad tongues and |
were to continually praise God and magnify His Name to the end that |
knoweth no end, their thanksgiving would not prove adequate for even one |
of the gracious favours We have mentioned in this Tablet. Unto this |
beareth witness every man of wisdom and discernment, of understanding and |
knowledge. |
We earnestly beseech Godâexalted be His gloryâto aid the rulers and |
sovereigns, who are the exponents of power and the daysprings of glory, to |
enforce His laws and ordinances. He is in truth the Omnipotent, the |
All-Powerful, He Who is wont to answer the call of men. |