A Compilation on Women | Page 5

all the leaves to attain the knowledge of the
Tree and deprive them not of the ocean of His generosity. In this day no
regard is paid to loftiness or lowliness, to poverty or wealth, to nobility
and lineage, to weakness or might. Whosoever recognizeth the
incomparable Beloved is the possessor of true wealth and occupieth a
divine station. Today, in the court of the True One, the queen of the
world and her like are not worth a mustard seed, because although she
may speak in the name of God, invoke the Lord of creation every day
in the temple of her body, and spend large sums of earthly wealth for
the development of her nation, she is deprived of recognition of the Sun
of His Manifestation and is barred from the True One in Whose

remembrance she is engaged....
(From a Tablet - translated from the Persian and Arabic) [6]

7: Throughout the centuries and ages many a man hath waited
expectant for...
Throughout the centuries and ages many a man hath waited expectant
for God's Revelation, and yet when the Light shone forth from the
horizon of the world, all but a few turned their faces away from it.
Whosoever from amongst the handmaidens hath recognized the Lord of
all Names is recorded in the Book as one of those men by the Pen of
the Most High. Offer thou praise to the Beloved of the world for having
aided thee to recognize the Dayspring of His Signs and the Revealer of
the evidences of His Glory. This is a great bounty, a bounteous favour.
Preserve it in the name of the True One....
(From a Tablet - translated from the Persian and Arabic) [7]

Extracts From the Writings and Utterances of 'Abdu'l-Bahá:

8: From the beginning of existence until the Promised Day men
retained superiority...
From the beginning of existence until the Promised Day men retained
superiority over women in every respect. It is revealed in the Qur'án:
"Men have superiority over women." But in this wondrous
Dispensation, the supreme outpouring of the Glorious Lord became the
cause of manifest achievements by women. Some handmaidens arose
who excelled men in the arena of knowledge. They arose with such
love and spirituality that they became the cause of the outpouring of the
bounty of the Sovereign Lord upon mankind, and with their sanctity,
purity and attributes of the spirit led a great many to the shore of unity.
They became a guiding torch to the wanderers in the wastes of

bewilderment, and enkindled the despondent in the nether world with
the flame of the love of the Lord. This is a bounteous characteristic of
this wondrous Age which hath granted strength to the weaker sex and
hath bestowed masculine might upon womanhood....
(From a Tablet - translated from the Persian) [8]

9: O handmaid of God! In this wondrous dispensation in which the
Ancient...
O handmaid of God! In this wondrous dispensation in which the
Ancient Beauty and the Manifest Light--may my spirit be sacrificed for
His loved ones--hath risen from the horizon of age-old hopes, women
have assumed the attributes of men in showing forth steadfastness in
the Cause of God, and revealing the heroism and might of fearless men.
They invaded the arena of mystic knowledge and hoisted aloft the
banner on the heights of certitude. Thou, too, must make a mighty
effort and show forth supreme courage. Exert thyself and taste of the
sweetness of a heavenly draught, for the sweet taste of the love of God
will linger on to the end that hath no end.
(From a Tablet - translated from the Persian) [9]

10: Render thanks to the Lord that among that race thou art the first...
Render thanks to the Lord that among that race thou art the first
believer,(1) that thou hast engaged in spreading sweet-scented breezes,
and hast arisen to guide others. It is my hope that through the bounties
and favours of the Abhá Beauty thy countenance may be illumined, thy
disposition pleasing, and thy fragrance diffused, that thine eyes may be
seeing, thine ears attentive, thy tongue eloquent, thy heart filled with
supreme glad-tidings, and thy soul refreshed by divine fragrances, so
that thou mayest arise among that race and occupy thyself with the
edification of the people, and become filled with light. Although the
pupil of the eye is black, it is the source of light. Thou shalt likewise be.

The disposition should be bright, not the appearance. Therefore, with
supreme confidence and certitude, say: "O God! Make me a radiant
light, a shining lamp, and a brilliant star, so that I may illumine the
hearts with an effulgent ray from Thy Kingdom of Abhá...."
(From a Tablet - translated from the Persian)