Archive for February, 2016

Ayyam-i-Ha’ 1-5, 172 B.E. (2/26/2016-3/1/2016)

Friday, February 26th, 2016

O Pen of the Most High! Say: O people of the world! We have enjoined upon you fasting during a brief period, and at its close have designated for you Naw-Rúz as a feast. Thus hath the Day-Star of Utterance shone forth above the horizon of the Book as decreed by Him Who is the Lord of the beginning and the end. Let the days in excess of the months be placed before the month of fasting. We have ordained that these, amid all nights and days, shall be the manifestations of the letter Há, and thus they have not been bounded by the limits of the year and its months. It behoveth the people of Bahá, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name; and when they end—these days of giving that precede the season of restraint—let them enter upon the Fast. Thus hath it been ordained by Him Who is the Lord of all mankind. The traveller, the ailing, those who are with child or giving suck, are not bound by the Fast; they have been exempted by God as a token of His grace. He, verily, is the Almighty, the Most Generous.

Baha’u’llah

 

Known as the Ayyám-i-Há (the Days of Há), the Intercalary Days have the distinction of being associated with “the letter Há”. The abjad numerical value of this Arabic letter is five, which corresponds to the potential number of intercalary days.

The letter “Há” has been given several spiritual meanings in the Holy Writings, among which is as a symbol of the Essence of God.

 

1T chlamydomonas_page_551_big  Scanning Electron Microscope Images of cross sections of the flagellum of Chlamydomonas. They show a 9-pointed star tipped on each point by the Persian letters He and Aleph combined making the letter “HA” of “Ayyam-i-HA”. The flagellum of Chlamydomonas serve purposes of mobility, sensation, communication, and sexual reproduction, the stimulus for which travel through these conduits which as shown, in cross section are formed in the shape of the Persian letters He and Aleph making the letter “HA” surrounding the 9-pointed star.

More about Chlamydomonas

Allah’u’Abha! God is Most Glorious!

 

Prayer for Ayyam-i-Ha

My God, my Fire and my Light! The days which Thou hast named the Ayyám-i-Há (the Days of Há, Intercalary days) in Thy Book have begun, O Thou Who art the King of names, and the fast which Thy most exalted Pen hath enjoined unto all who are in the kingdom of Thy creation to observe is approaching. I entreat Thee, O my Lord, by these days and by all such as have during that period clung to the cord of Thy commandments, and laid hold on the handle of Thy precepts, to grant that unto every soul may be assigned a place within the precincts of Thy court, and a seat at the revelation of the splendors of the light of Thy countenance.

These, O my Lord, are Thy servants whom no corrupt inclination hath kept back from what Thou didst send down in Thy Book. They have bowed themselves before Thy Cause, and received Thy Book with such resolve as is born of Thee, and observed what Thou hadst prescribed unto them, and chosen to follow that which had been sent down by Thee.

Thou seest, O my Lord, how they have recognized and confessed whatsoever Thou hast revealed in Thy Scriptures. Give them to drink, O my Lord, from the hands of Thy graciousness the waters of Thine eternity. Write down, then, for them the recompense ordained for him that hath immersed himself in the ocean of Thy presence, and attained unto the choice wine of Thy meeting.

I implore Thee, O Thou the King of kings and the Pitier of the downtrodden, to ordain for them the good of this world and of the world to come. Write down for them, moreover, what none of Thy creatures hath discovered, and number them with those who have circled round Thee, and who move about Thy throne in every world of Thy worlds.

Thou, truly, art the Almighty, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed.

Baha’u’llah, Prayers & Meditations #XLV

Baha’i Sabbath: Mulk 13,172 B.E. (2/19/2016)

Friday, February 19th, 2016

O THOU true friend! Read, in the school of God, the lessons of the spirit, and learn from love’s Teacher the innermost truths. Seek out the secrets of Heaven, and tell of the overflowing grace and favor of God.

Although to acquire the sciences and arts is the greatest glory of mankind, this is so only on condition that man’s river flow into the mighty sea, and draw from God’s ancient source His inspiration. When this cometh to pass, then every teacher is as a shoreless ocean, every pupil a prodigal fountain of knowledge. If, then, the pursuit of knowledge lead to the beauty of Him Who is the Object of all Knowledge, how excellent that goal; but if not, a mere drop will perhaps shut a man off from flooding grace, for with learning cometh arrogance and pride, and it bringeth on error and indifference to God.

The sciences of today are bridges to reality; if then they lead not to reality, naught remains but fruitless illusion. By the one true God! If learning be not a means of access to Him, the Most Manifest, it is nothing but evident loss.

It is incumbent upon thee to acquire the various branches of knowledge, and to turn thy face toward the beauty of the Manifest Beauty, that thou mayest be a sign of saving guidance amongst the peoples of the world, and a focal center of understanding in this sphere from which the wise and their wisdom are shut out, except for those who set foot in the Kingdom of lights and become informed of the veiled and hidden mystery, the well-guarded secret.

Abdu’l-Baha’, Selections #72

Baha’i Sabbath: Mulk 6, 172 B.E. (2/12/2016)

Friday, February 12th, 2016

“Consider what injuries, ordeals and calamities have been inflicted upon mankind since the beginning of history. Every city, country, nation and people has been subjected to the destruction and havoc of war. Each one of the divine religions considers itself as belonging to a goodly and blessed tree, the tree of the Merciful, and all other religious systems as belonging to a tree of evil, the tree of Satan. For this reason they heap execration and abuse upon each other. This is clearly apparent in books of historical record and prevailed until the time of the appearance of Bahá’u’lláh.

“When the light of Bahá’u’lláh dawned from the East, He proclaimed the promise of the oneness of humanity. He addressed all mankind, saying, “Ye are all the fruits of one tree. There are not two trees: one a tree of divine mercy, the other the tree of Satan.” Again He said, “Ye are all the fruits of one tree, the leaves of one branch.” This was His announcement; this was His promise of the oneness of the world of humanity. Anathema and execration were utterly abrogated. He said, “It is not becoming in man to curse another; it is not befitting that man should attribute darkness to another; it is not meet that one human being should consider another human being as bad; nay, rather, all mankind are the servants of one God; God is the Father of all; there is not a single exception to that law. There are no people of Satan; all belong to the Merciful. There is no darkness; all is light. All are the servants of God, and man must love humanity from his heart. He must, verily, behold humanity as submerged in the divine mercy.

“Bahá’u’lláh has made no exception to this rule.”

 

Abdu’l-Baha’, The Most Great BRANCH of Baha’u’llah

Baha’i Month: Mulk/Dominion 1, 172 B.E. (2/7/2016)

Tuesday, February 9th, 2016

O SON OF MAN!
Thou art My dominion and My dominion perisheth not; wherefore fearest thou thy perishing? Thou art My light and My light shall never be extinguished; why dost thou dread extinction? Thou art My glory and My glory fadeth not; thou art My robe and My robe shall never be outworn. Abide then in thy love for Me, that thou mayest find Me in the realm of glory.

Baha’u’llah, Hidden Words Arabic #14

 

Strive then, O My brother, to apprehend this matter, that the veils may be lifted from the face of thy heart and that thou mayest be reckoned among them whom God hath graced with such penetrating vision as to behold the most subtle realities of His dominion, to fathom the mysteries of His kingdom, to perceive the signs of His transcendent Essence in this mortal world, and to attain a station wherein one seeth no distinction amongst His creatures and findeth no flaw in the creation of the heavens and the earth.

Baha’u’llah, Gems Of Divine Mysteries, Paragraph 5

Baha’i Sabbath: Sultan 18, 172 B.E. (2/5/2016)

Friday, February 5th, 2016

“In the Koran of Muhammad–Muhammad is the seal of the prophets. This means no one can appear after Muhammad to change what is sealed by God through Muhammad in the Holy Koran.

“In the Holy Koran Muhammad seals the fact that God has appointed the throne and line of King David through Solomon as the International Executive and Universal Caliphate for all of Islam. Muhammad seals this Jewish throne-line as the successorship of God in the Covenant of the Koran. No one can change this or usurp this position, as this is the seal of the prophets through Muhammad. No prophet will ever come after Muhammad to change this, as he is the seal of the nabi. But Muhammad is not the seal of the Caliphate! The caliphate of the throne of King David is alive in the world today through the exilarchs–the exiled monarchs of King David–that have preserved the throne-line and lineage of David all down throughout history to Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha seated upon David’s throne.”

 

Neal Chase,

Third Aghsan Guardian of the Baha’i Faith,

Great Grandson of Abdu’l-Baha’