IV

IV

O followers of the beloved Cause of Bahá’u’lláh! Regard not the smallness of your numbers, nor be depressed and discontented by reason of the harm and injury that you sustain at the hands of friend or foe. Let not the vilifications, the whisperings and idle remarks of the foolish and the short-sighted grieve you, nor the vast array of the multitude of assailants frighten or alarm you.

These tribulations have time and again been foretold by our peerless Master. The prophetic warnings that our supreme Lord has uttered clearly foreshadow the onslaught of the hosts of affliction. Have you not heard what has flowed from the tongue of the Comforter of mankind in this connection? He says: “Say: Tribulation is as water for that which We have planted in human hearts. The day is approaching when out of it will have grown such fruit that every seed thereof will proclaim: Verily, no God is there but Him, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.” And likewise He has said: “Through adversity have We fostered the growth of the Faith of God in bygone ages. Erelong wilt thou witness this Cause shining resplendent above the horizon of glory, invested with majesty and power.” And also He affirms: “God hath made tribulation as the crown wherewith the head of Bahá is attired. The time is at hand when its radiance will have enveloped the whole world. By My life! Such tribulations as are sustained in the path of God, the Fashioner of all created things, are as cherished by Me as eyes are cherished by men, nay even more! Unto this thy Lord, the Mighty, the Unconstrained, beareth witness.”

O apostles of Bahá’u’lláh! How pitiful if we, who are recognized as the bearers of His glorious Name, and related to such an omnipotent Lord, should, in moments of adversity, fail to scrupulously follow the noble example set by Him Who stands peerless in His long-suffering. Happy the one who until his last breath has tasted the venom of woe at the hand of the faithless, and blessed the heart that for the sake of promoting and proclaiming His Cause does not allow himself a moment’s rest. Such is the disposition of the pure in heart, such is the method of them that enjoy near access to God, such is the way of the true strivers after God, such befits the hosts that are under the guidance of God, such is the means whereby undoubted triumph and victory will be achieved for the Cause of God.

O people of Bahá! Lift up your voices and hail men of wisdom with glad-tidings. Call aloud between earth and heaven, exclaiming: O people of the world and workers of injustice and iniquity! Rest assured that we, the followers of the Abhá Beauty, have paid for our Faith with our life-blood, and have tasted the sweetness of sacrifice in the path of His love. Our trust in Him sustains our lives, enabling us to be detached from aught else but Him. We shall promote His Cause to the last breath and offer praise and gratitude at all times for the tribulations He ordains.

O people of the earth! Know you with absolute certainty, and let every wavering and hesitant soul be apprised and take warning, that whatsoever has explicitly been revealed by the All-Glorious Pen will eventually become clear and evident, even as the sun in its noon-tide glory. In this snow-white Spot, and in other lands, the immutable Will of Him Who has stretched out the earth and raised up the heavens shall be fulfilled, the cherished desire of longing hearts will emerge from behind a myriad veils into the realm of existence, and the highest aspiration of the people of Bahá will be fully, perfectly, and conclusively realised. This is that which our Lord has promised us both openly and privily, and indeed this is a promise that will not prove untrue. Therefore it beseems you to arise and exclaim: “O concourse of the earth! Die in your wrath. Erelong will the standard of His Faith be hoisted in every city, shedding radiance upon all regions.”