22 Nov | a.m

The Voice of God commanded Him [Abraham] to offer up Ishmael as a sacrifice, so that His steadfastness in the Faith of God and His detachment from all else but Him may be demonstrated unto men. The purpose of God, moreover, was to sacrifice him as a ransom for the sins and iniquities of all the peoples of the earth. This same honor, Jesus, the Son of Mary, besought the one true God, exalted be His name and glory, to confer upon Him. For the same reason was Husayn offered up as a sacrifice by Muhammad, the Apostle of God.

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 75

21 Nov | p.m

O heedless one! The tale of the Sacrifice (Ishmael) hath been retold, and he who was to be offered up hath directed his steps towards the place of sacrifice, and returned not, by reason of that which thy hand hath wrought, O perverse hater! Didst thou imagine that martyrdom could abase this Cause?

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 100

21 Nov | a.m

By the righteousness of God! If thou wert present before My Throne and didst hearken unto the Tongue of might and grandeur, thou wouldst sacrifice thy body, thy soul, thine entire being as a token of thy love for God, the Sovereign, the Protector, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise, and wouldst so thrill to the fascination of His Voice that every pen would be powerless to recount thy station and every eloquent speaker would be confounded in his attempt to describe it.

- Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 263

20 Nov | p.m

By Thy glory! I desire neither Myself nor My life except for the purpose of serving Thy Cause, and I love not My being save that I may sacrifice it in Thy path.

- Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 36

My hope is that out of the Lord's abundant grace, His munificence and loving-kindness, I may, in His pathway, be hanged against the sky, that my heart may become the target for a thousand bullets, or that I may be cast into the depths of the sea, or be left to perish on desert sands. This is what I long for most; this is my supreme desire; it refresheth my soul, it is balm for my breast, it is the very solace of mine eyes.

- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 241

20 Nov | a.m

Methinks I heard a Voice calling in my inmost being: 'Do thou sacrifice the thing which Thou lovest most in the path of God, even as Husayn, peace be upon him, hath offered up his life for My sake.' And were I not regardful of this inevitable mystery, by Him, Who hath my being between His hands even if all the kings of the earth were to be leagued together they would be powerless to take from me a single letter, how much less can these servants who are worthy of no attention, and who verily are of the outcast... That all may know the degree of My patience, My resignation, and self-sacrifice in the path of God.

- The Báb, quoted by Baha'u'llah in The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 230

19 Nov | p.m

Wherefore, O friend, give up thy self that thou mayest find the Peerless One, pass by this mortal earth that thou mayest seek a home in the nest of heaven. Be as naught, if thou wouldst kindle the fire of being and be fit for the pathway of love.

- Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 9

Follow in the footsteps of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and in the pathway of the Abhá Beauty, long at every moment to give up your lives.

- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 245

19 Nov | a.m

Love accepteth no existence and wisheth no life: He seeth life in death, and in shame seeketh glory. To merit the madness of love, man must abound in sanity; to merit the bonds of the Friend, he must be full of spirit. Blessed the neck that is caught in His noose, happy the head that falleth on the dust in the pathway of His love.

- Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 9

By the Lord God! I would not exchange this prison for the throne of the whole world, nor give up this confinement for pleasures and pastimes in all the fair gardens on earth.

- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 241

23 Sep | a.m

The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest, and the lover hath no desire save union with his beloved. Nor shall the seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice all things. That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and understood, all must he set at naught, that he may enter the realm of the spirit, which is the City of God.

- Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 7

Thou seest me in this day shut up in my prison, and fallen into the hands of Thine adversaries, and beholdest my son (The Purest Branch) lying on the dust before Thy face.…Thereupon I offered him up, O my God, as a sacrifice in Thy path.

- Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 34

22 Sep | p.m

O SON OF MAN!

By My beauty! To tinge thy hair with thy blood is greater in My sight than the creation of the universe and the light of both worlds. Strive then to attain this, O servant!

 

- Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words

21 Sep | p.m

Doth not the testimony of these holy souls, who have so gloriously risen to offer up their lives for their Beloved that the whole world marveled at the manner of their sacrifice, suffice the people of this day?

 

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 180

21 Sep | a.m

The Voice of God commanded Him [Abraham] to offer up Ishmael as a sacrifice, so that His steadfastness in the Faith of God and His detachment from all else but Him may be demonstrated unto men. The purpose of God, moreover, was to sacrifice him as a ransom for the sins and iniquities of all the peoples of the earth. This same honor, Jesus, the Son of Mary, besought the one true God, exalted be His name and glory, to confer upon Him. For the same reason was Husayn offered up as a sacrifice by Muhammad, the Apostle of God.

 

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 75

19 Sep | a.m

Methinks I heard a Voice calling in my inmost being: 'Do thou sacrifice the thing which Thou lovest most in the path of God, even as Husayn, peace be upon him, hath offered up his life for My sake.' And were I not regardful of this inevitable mystery, by Him, Who hath my being between His hands even if all the kings of the earth were to be leagued together they would be powerless to take from me a single letter, how much less can these servants who are worthy of no attention, and who verily are of the outcast... That all may know the degree of My patience, My resignation, and self-sacrifice in the path of God.

 

- The Báb, quoted by Baha'u'llah in The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 230

18 Sep | p.m

Wherefore, O friend, give up thy self that thou mayest find the Peerless One, pass by this mortal earth that thou mayest seek a home in the nest of heaven. Be as naught, if thou wouldst kindle the fire of being and be fit for the pathway of love.

- Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 9

Follow in the footsteps of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and in the pathway of the Abhá Beauty, long at every moment to give up your lives.

- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 245

18 Sep | a.m

Love accepteth no existence and wisheth no life: He seeth life in death, and in shame seeketh glory. To merit the madness of love, man must abound in sanity; to merit the bonds of the Friend, he must be full of spirit. Blessed the neck that is caught in His noose, happy the head that falleth on the dust in the pathway of His love.

- Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 9

By the Lord God! I would not exchange this prison for the throne of the whole world, nor give up this confinement for pleasures and pastimes in all the fair gardens on earth.

- Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 241

16 July | a.m

The true seeker hunteth naught but the object of his quest, and the lover hath no desire save union with his beloved. Nor shall the seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice all things. That is, whatever he hath seen, and heard, and understood, all must he set at naught, that he may enter the realm of the spirit, which is the City of God.

- Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 7

Thou seest me in this day shut up in my prison, and fallen into the hands of Thine adversaries, and beholdest my son (The Purest Branch) lying on the dust before Thy face.…Thereupon I offered him up, O my God, as a sacrifice in Thy path.

- Baha'u'llah, Prayers and Meditations by Baha'u'llah, p. 34

15 July | p.m

O SON OF MAN!

By My beauty! To tinge thy hair with thy blood is greater in My sight than the creation of the universe and the light of both worlds. Strive then to attain this, O servant!

- Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words

15 July | a.m

For the head raised up in the love of God will certainly fall by the sword, and the life that is kindled with longing will surely be sacrificed, and the heart which remembereth the Loved One will surely brim with blood. How well is it said:

Live free of love, for its very peace is anguish;

Its beginning is pain, its end is death.

[Arabian poem.]

- Baha'u'llah, The Seven Valleys, p. 41

14 July | p.m

Doth not the testimony of these holy souls, who have so gloriously risen to offer up their lives for their Beloved that the whole world marveled at the manner of their sacrifice, suffice the people of this day?

- Baha'u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, p. 180