The Book of the Most Holy CHAPTER TEN

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Division 311-350

THE MOST HOLY

311.

Compose your differences, O My servants;

then heed ye the admonition of Our Pen of Glory and follow not the arrogant and wayward.

312.

Take heed lest the world beguile you as it beguiled the people who went before you!

313.

Observe ye the statutes and precepts of your Lord,

and walk ye in this Way which hath been laid out before you in righteousness and truth.

314.

They who eschew iniquity and error, who adhere to virtue,

are, in the sight of God, among the choicest of His creatures;

315.

their names are extolled by the Concourse of the realms above,

and by those who dwell in this Tabernacle which hath been raised in the name of God.

316.

It is forbidden you to trade in slaves, be they men or women.

317.

It is not for him who is himself a servant to buy another of God's servants,

and this hath been prohibited in His Holy Tablet.

318.

Thus, by His mercy, hath the commandment been recorded by the Pen of justice.

319.

Let no man exalt himself above another;

320.

all are mere bondslaves before the Lord,

and all exemplify the truth that there is none other God but Him.

He, verily, is the All-Wise, Whose wisdom encompasseth all things.

321.

Adorn yourselves with the raiment of goodly deeds.

322.

He whose deeds attain unto God's good pleasure is assuredly of the people of Bahá and is remembered before His throne.

323.

Assist ye the Lord of all creation with works of righteousness, and also through wisdom and utterance.

324.

Thus, indeed, have ye been commanded in most of the Tablets by Him Who is the All-Merciful.

He, truly, is cognizant of what I say.

325.

Let none contend with another, and let no soul slay another;

this, verily, is that which was forbidden you in a Book that hath lain concealed within the Tabernacle of glory.

326.

What! Would ye kill him whom God hath quickened,

whom He hath endowed with spirit through a breath from Him?

327.

Grievous then would be your trespass before His throne!

328.

Fear God,

and lift not the hand of injustice and oppression

to destroy what He hath Himself raised up;

329.

nay, walk ye in the way of God, the True [Lord].

330.

No sooner did the hosts of true knowledge appear, bearing the standards of Divine utterance,

than the tribes of the religions were put to flight,

save only those who willed to drink from the stream of everlasting life

in a Paradise created by the breath of the All-Glorious.

331.

God hath decreed, in token of His mercy unto His creatures, that semen is not unclean.

332.

Yield thanks unto Him with joy and radiance,

and follow not such as are remote from the Dawning-place of His nearness.

333.

Arise ye, under all conditions, to render service to the Cause,

for God will assuredly assist you

through the power of His sovereignty that overshadoweth the worlds.

334.

Cleave ye unto the cord of refinement with such tenacity

as to allow no trace of dirt to be seen upon your garments.

335.

Such is the injunction of One Who is sanctified above all refinement.

336.

Whoso falleth short of this standard with good reason shall incur no blame.

God, verily, is the Forgiving, the Merciful.

337.

Wash ye every soiled thing with water that hath undergone no alteration in any one of the three respects;

338.

take heed not to use water that hath been altered through exposure to the air or to some other agent.

339.

Be ye the very essence of cleanliness amongst mankind.

340.

This, truly, is what your Lord, the Incomparable, the All-Wise, desireth for you.

341.

God hath, likewise, as a bounty from His presence, abolished the concept of " uncleanness", whereby divers things and peoples have been held to be impure.

He, of a certainty, is the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Generous.

342.

Verily, all created things were immersed in the sea of purification when, on that first day of Ridvá n, We shed upon the whole of creation the splendours of Our most excellent Names and Our most exalted Attributes.

343.

This, verily, is a token of My loving providence, which hath encompassed all the worlds.

344.

Consort ye then with the followers of all religions, and proclaim ye the Cause of your Lord, the Most Compassionate; this is the very crown of deeds, if ye be of them who understand.

345.

God hath commaned you to observe the utmost cleanliness,

to the extent of washing what is soiled with dust,

let alone with hardened dirt and similar defilement.

346.

Fear Him, and be of those who are pure.

347.

Should the garb of anyone be visibly sullied,

his prayers shall not ascend to God, and the celestial Concourse will turn away from him.

348.

Make use of rose-water, and of pure perfume;

this, indeed, is that which God hath loved from the beginning that hath no beginning, in order that there may be diffused from you what your Lord, the Incomparable, the All-Wise, desireth.

349.

God hath relieved you of the ordinance laid down in the Bayá n concerning the destruction of books.

350.

We have permitted you to read such sciences as are profitable unto you, not such as end in idle disputation;

better is this for you, if ye be of them that comprehend.

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