nor aught from which the spirit hath departed, such as bones and the like. Ye are free to wear the fur of the sable as ye would that of the beaver, the squirrel, and other animals...
This is a reference to Constantinople, now called Istanbul. Located on the Bosphorus, a strait about 31 kilometres long which links the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, it is the...
In one of His Tablets written before the First World War (1914-1918), 'Abdu'l-Baha explained that Baha'u'llah's reference to having seen the banks of the Rhine covered with gore re...
Ta is the initial letter of Tihran, the capital of Iran. Baha'u'llah has often chosen to represent certain place names by reference to their initial letter. According to the abjad...
A reference to the Iranian province of Khurasan and neighbouring areas, which include the city of Ishqabad (Ashkhabad).
This verse establishes Huququ'llah, the Right of God, the offering of a fixed portion of the value of the believer's possessions. This offering was made to Baha'u'llah as the Manif...
concerning laws from God... We have, in consequence, revealed this Holy Tablet and arrayed it with the mantle of His Law that haply the people may keep the commandments of their Lo...
This is a reference to the prison-city of Akka. In the Baha'i Writings the word crimson is used in several allegorical and symbolic senses. (See also note 115.)
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 Islam, for example in the accounts of Mu...
The term Mother Book is generally used to designate the central Book of a religious Dispensation. In the Qur'an and Islamic Hadith, the term is used to describe the Qur'an itself....
O MAN OF TWO VISIONS! Close one eye and open the other. Close one to the world and all that is therein, and open the other to the hallowed beauty of the Beloved.
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...
Be fair in thy judgement and reflect upon these exalted utterances. Inquire, then, of those who lay claim to knowledge without a proof or testimony from God, and who remain heedles...
Baha'u'llah defines the age of maturity with respect to religious duties as fifteen for both men and women (Q and A 20). For details of the period of fasting, see note 25.
Revelation, and altereth its evident meaning 105 In several of His Tablets, Baha'u'llah affirms the distinction between allegorical verses, which are susceptible to interpretation,...
Baha'u'llah prohibits the use of the pools found in the traditional public bath-houses of Persia. In these baths it was the custom for many people to wash themselves in the same po...
Marriage with one's stepmother is here explicitly prohibited. This prohibition also applies to marrying one's stepfather. Where Baha'u'llah has expressed a law between a man and a...
The word translated here as boys has, in this context, in the Arabic original, the implication of paederasty. Shoghi Effendi has interpreted this reference as a prohibition on all...
This is an allusion to the practice of certain clerics and religious leaders of earlier Dispensations who, out of hypocrisy and affectation, and in order to win the praise of their...
According to the Teachings of Baha'u'llah, the individual has a duty to write a will and testament, and is free to dispose of his estate in whatever manner he chooses (see note 38)...
As explained in note 33, the Greatest Name of God can take various forms, all based on the word Baha. The Baha'is in the East have implemented this injunction of the Aqdas by headi...
Festivals and in the two other Festivals that fall on the twin days 110 This passage establishes four great festivals of the Baha'i year. The two designated by Baha'u'llah as the t...
In the Baha'i calendar the first month of the year and the first day of each month are given the name Baha. The day of Baha of the month of Baha is thus the Baha'i New Year, Naw-Ru...
O MY CHILDREN! I fear lest, bereft of the melody of the dove of heaven, ye will sink back to the shades of utter loss, and, never having gazed upon the beauty of the rose, return t...
O SON OF SPIRIT! I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee...
Should they say: "These words are indeed from God, and have no interpretation other than their outward meaning", then what objection can they raise against the unbelievers among th...
The exemption of those who are weak due to illness or advanced age from offering the Obligatory Prayers and from fasting is explained in Questions and Answers. Baha'u'llah indicate...
A reference to the Ridvan Festival (see notes 107 and 138). 141. God had formerly laid upon each one of the believers the duty of offering before Our throne priceless gifts from am...
With reference to attending dawn prayers in the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, the Baha'i House of Worship, Baha'u'llah has explained that, although the actual time specified in the Book of Go...
Who causeth the dawn to appear, Who lifteth up His voice between the heavens and the earth. 117 Baha'u'llah repeatedly affirms the absolute integrity of His Writings as the Word of...