The Baha’i Faith
Hidden Words
(excerpts)
Baha’u’llah

The Baha’i Faith is a monotheistic religion founded in the 19th century in Persia. Followers of the faith believe in the essential unity of both humanity and religion. The faith recognizes the validity of the world’s major religions. It also stresses several important social doctrines, such as compulsory education, gender equality, rejection of racial and national prejudice, and world peace. Shoghi Effendi, the leader of the religion 1921-1957, described the faith’s key elements as follows:

The independent search after truth, unfettered by superstition or tradition; the oneness of the entire human race, the pivotal principle and fundamental doctrine of the Faith; the basic unity of all religions; the condemnation of all forms of prejudice, whether religious, racial, class or national; the harmony which must exist between religion and science; the equality of men and women, the two wings on which the bird of humankind is able to soar; the introduction of compulsory education; the adoption of a universal auxiliary language; the abolition of the extremes of wealth and poverty; the institution of a world tribunal for the adjudication of disputes between nations; the exaltation of work, performed in the spirit of service, to the rank of worship; the glorification of justice as the ruling principle in human society, and of religion as a bulwark for the protection of all peoples and nations; and the establishment of a permanent and universal peace as the supreme goal of all mankind—these stand out as the essential elements ….
Effendi, Shoghi, God Passes By, Wilmette, Illinois, US: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, pp. 281–2 (1944).

Baha’u’llah is considered to be the founder of the faith. The Baha’i believe Baha’u’llah to be the prophet prophesied by the Bab, who was the first to relate the core ideas.
For more, see: www.sacred-texts.com/bhi/bahaullah/hw.txt

Part I. (-from the Arabic)

1. O SON OF SPIRIT!

My first counsel is this: Possess a pure, kindly and
radiant heart, that thine may be a sovereignty ancient,
imperishable and everlasting.

3. O SON OF MAN!

Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient
eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee;
therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee
Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty.

5. O SON OF BEING!

Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me
not, My love can in no wise reach thee. Know this,
O servant.

6. O SON OF BEING!

Thy Paradise is My love; thy heavenly home, reunion
with Me. Enter therein and tarry not. This
is that which hath been destined for thee in Our
kingdom above and Our exalted dominion.

7. O SON OF MAN!

If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself; and if
thou seekest My pleasure, regard not thine own;
that thou mayest die in Me and I may eternally live
in thee.

11. O SON OF BEING!

Thou art My lamp and My light is in thee.
Get thou from it thy radiance and seek none
other than Me. For I have created thee rich
and have bountifully shed My favor upon
thee.

12. O SON OF BEING!

With the hands of power I made thee and with
the fingers of strength I created thee; and within
thee have I placed the essence of My light.
Be thou content with it and seek naught else,
for My work is perfect and My command is
binding. Question it not, nor have a doubt
thereof.

16. O SON OF LIGHT!

Forget all save Me and commune with My spirit.
This is of the essence of My command, therefore
turn unto it.

36. O SON OF MAN!

Rejoice in the gladness of thine heart, that thou
mayest be worthy to meet Me and to mirror forth
My beauty.

44. O SON OF THE THRONE!

Thy hearing is My hearing, hear thou therewith.
Thy sight is My sight, do thou see therewith,
that in thine inmost soul thou mayest
testify unto My exalted sanctity, and I within
Myself may bear witness unto an exalted station
for thee.

52. O SON OF MAN!

Should prosperity befall thee, rejoice not, and
should abasement come upon thee, grieve not,
for both shall pass away and be no more.

55. O SON OF BEING!

Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We
test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants.

59. O SON OF BEING!

Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent.
Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for
My manifestation.

© 1994 Baha'i International Community

Who We Are  |  The Founder  |  The Magazine
Join Us!  |  Links  |  Home

Contact Us!  

© 2011  Spirituality & Community.  All Rights Reserved.