Bahíyyih Khánum | Page 4

unto My Voice: ...
(3) O My Leaf! Hearken thou unto My Voice: Verily there is none
other God but Me, the Almighty, the All-Wise. I can well inhale from
thee the fragrance of My love and the sweet-smelling savour wafting
from the raiment of My Name, the Most Holy, the Most Luminous. Be
astir upon God's Tree in conformity with thy pleasure and unloose thy
tongue in praise of thy Lord amidst all mankind. Let not the things of
the world grieve thee. Cling fast unto this divine Lote-Tree from which
God hath graciously caused thee to spring forth. I swear by My life! It
behoveth the lover to be closely joined to the loved one, and here

indeed is the Best-Beloved of the world.

II: FROM THE WRITINGS OF 'ABDU'L-BAHÁ

1: O my well-beloved, deeply spiritual sister! ...
(4) O my well-beloved, deeply spiritual sister! Day and night thou
livest in my memory. Whenever I remember thee my heart swelleth
with sadness and my regret groweth more intense. Grieve not, for I am
thy true, thy unfailing comforter. Let neither despondency nor despair
becloud the serenity of thy life or restrain thy freedom. These days shall
pass away. We will, please God, in the Abhá Kingdom and beneath the
sheltering shadow of the Blessed Beauty, forget all these our earthly
cares and will find each one of these base calumnies amply
compensated by His expressions of praise and favour. From the
beginning of time sorrow and anxiety, regret and tribulation, have
always been the lot of every loyal servant of God. Ponder this in thine
heart and consider how very true it is. Wherefore, set thine heart on the
tender mercies of the Ancient Beauty and be thou filled with abiding
joy and intense gladness....

2: O thou my affectionate sister! In the daytime ...
(5) O thou my affectionate sister! In the daytime and in the
night-season my thoughts ever turn to thee. Not for one moment do I
cease to remember thee. My sorrow and regret concern not myself; they
centre around thee. Whenever I recall thine afflictions, tears that I
cannot repress rain down from mine eyes....

3: Dear and deeply spiritual sister! At morn and ...
(6) Dear and deeply spiritual sister! At morn and eventide, with the

utmost ardour and humility, I supplicate at the Divine Threshold, and
offer this, my prayer:
'Grant, O Thou my God, the Compassionate, that that pure and blessed
Leaf may be comforted by Thy sweet savours of holiness and sustained
by the reviving breeze of Thy loving care and mercy. Reinforce her
spirit with the signs of Thy Kingdom, and gladden her soul with the
testimonies of Thy everlasting dominion. Comfort, O my God, her
sorrowful heart with the remembrance of Thy face, initiate her into Thy
hidden mysteries, and inspire her with the revealed splendours of Thy
heavenly light. Manifold are her sorrows, and infinitely grievous her
distress. Bestow continually upon her the favour of Thy sustaining
grace and, with every fleeting breath, grant her the blessing of Thy
bounty. Her hopes and expectations are centred in Thee; open Thou to
her face the portals of Thy tender mercies and lead her into the ways of
Thy wondrous benevolence.
Thou art the Generous, the All-Loving, the Sustainer, the
All-Bountiful....'

4: Dear sister, beloved of my heart and soul! ...
(7) Dear sister, beloved of my heart and soul! The news of thy safe
arrival and pleasant stay in the land of Egypt has reached me and filled
my heart with exceeding gladness. I am thankful to Bahá'u'lláh for the
good health thou dost enjoy and for the happiness He hath imparted to
the hearts of the loved ones in that land. Shouldst thou wish to know of
the condition of this servant of the Threshold of the Abhá Beauty,
praise be to Him for having enabled me to inhale the fragrance of His
tender mercy and partake of the delights of His loving-kindness and
blessings. I am being continually reinforced by the energizing rays of
His grace, and feel upheld by the uninterrupted aid of the victorious
hosts of His Kingdom. My physical health is also improving. God be
praised that from every quarter I receive the glad-tidings of the growing
ascendancy of the Cause of God, and can witness evidences of the
increasing influence of its spread....

5: O thou my loving, my deeply spiritual ...
(8) O thou my loving, my deeply spiritual sister! I trust that by the
grace and loving-kindness of the one true God thou art, and wilt be,
kept safe and secure beneath the sheltering shadow of the Blessed
Beauty. Night and day thy countenance appeareth before mine eyes,
and in my mind are engraved the traits of