Daily Frameworks for 24 May 2023

’Idál, 08 ‘Azamat (Grandeur), 180 B.E

The Declaration of the Báb

Ridván Message 2023

Copious are the blessings that a benevolent Lord ¹ has chosen to bestow upon His loved ones. ² Lofty is the calling, ³ magnificent the prospect. Pressing are the times in which we have all been summoned to serve. Impassioned, then, are the prayers with which, on your behalf and for your tireless efforts, we supplicate at the Threshold of Bahá’u’lláh. ⁴

Light of the World

O thou sincere seeker! Strive thou with all thy might to summon the people to the heavenly Kingdom, so that through divine guidance thou mayest enable the human souls to become even as the angels of Paradise, mayest promote universal peace in this distinguished Age and serve the oneness of the world of humanity, and mayest attain unto everlasting life, follow the example of Christ, and become a companion of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in this path. Upon thee be greetings and praise. ⁵

1. “GLORY be unto Thee, O Lord my God! I beg Thee to forgive me and those who support Thy Faith. Verily Thou art the sovereign Lord, the Forgiver, the Most Generous. O my God! Enable such servants of Thine as are deprived of knowledge to be admitted into Thy Cause; for once they learn of Thee, they bear witness to the truth of the Day of Judgment and do not dispute the revelations of Thy bounty. Send down upon them the tokens of Thy grace and grant them, wherever they reside, a liberal share of that which Thou hast ordained for the pious among Thy servants. Thou art in truth the Supreme Ruler, the All-Bounteous, the Most Benevolent.
   “O my God! Let the outpourings of Thy bounty and blessings descend upon homes whose inmates have embraced Thy Faith, as a token of Thy grace and as a mark of loving-kindness from Thy presence. Verily unsurpassed art Thou in granting forgiveness. Should Thy bounty be withheld from anyone, how could he be reckoned among the followers of the Faith in Thy Day?
   “Bless me, O my God, and those who will believe in Thy signs on the appointed Day, and such as cherish my love in their hearts—a love which Thou dost instill into them. Verily Thou art the Lord of righteousness, the Most Exalted.”
   The Báb. Selections from the Writings of the Báb. Translated by Habib Taherzadeh. 1. ed. Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 1976, 200. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-bab/selections-writings-bab/8#986046524. ↩
2. “The chosen ones of God and His loved ones in that land are remembered by Us, and We give them the joyful tidings of that which hath been sent down in their honor from the Kingdom of the utterance of their Lord, the sovereign Ruler of the Day of Reckoning. Make mention of Me to them and illumine them with the resplendent glory of Mine utterance. Verily thy Lord is the Gracious, the Bountiful.”
   Bahá’u’lláh. Tablets of Baháʾuʾlláh, Revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Translated by Habib Taherzadeh. 1st ed. Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 1978, 49. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/tablets-bahaullah/2#860565624. ↩
3. “GLORY to Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of all worlds, and the Beloved of all such as have recognized Thee! Thou seest me sitting under a sword hanging on a thread, and art well aware that in such a state I have not fallen short of my duty towards Thy Cause, nor failed to shed abroad Thy praise, and declare Thy virtues, and deliver all Thou hadst prescribed unto me in Thy Tablets. Though the sword be ready to fall on my head, I call Thy loved ones with such a calling that the hearts are carried away towards the horizon of Thy majesty and grandeur.”
   Bahá’u’lláh. Prayers and Meditations by Baháʼuʼlláh. Translated by Shoghi Effendi. 1938. Reprint, Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1974, 170-171. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/prayers-meditations/5#105977109 ↩
4. Universal House of Justice. “Riḍván 2023 – To the Bahá’ís of the World.” Bahá’í Reference Library, April 30, 2023. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/20230430_001/1#031197010. ↩
5. ’Abdu’l-Bahá. Light of the World: Selected Tablets of ’Abdu’l-Bahá. 1st ed. Haifa: Bahá’í World Center, 2021. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/light-of-the-world/3#167559139. ↩