Oct 10, 2025

‘Ilm (Knowledge)

From Bahá’u’lláh

O Children of Men! Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other. Ponder at all times in your hearts how ye were created. Since We have created you all from one same substance it is incumbent on you to be even as one soul, to walk with the same feet, eat with the same mouth and dwell in the same land, that from your inmost being, by your deeds and actions, the signs of oneness and the essence of detachment may be made manifest. Such is My counsel to you, O concourse of light! Heed ye this counsel that ye may obtain the fruit of holiness from the tree of wondrous glory. (Baha’u’llah, ‘The Hidden Words’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. II, Women)

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From the Báb

The newly born babe of that Day excels the wisest and most venerable men of this time, and the lowliest and most unlearned of that period shall surpass in understanding the most erudite and accomplished divines of this age... (The Báb, Quoted in "The Dawn-Breakers: Nabil's Narrative of the Early Days of the Baha'i Revelation", translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

 From ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

From childhood He [Baha’u’llah] was extremely kind and generous. He was a great lover of outdoor life, most of His time being spent in the garden or the fields. He had an extraordinary power of attraction, which was felt by all. People always crowded around Him. Ministers and people of the Court would surround Him, and the children also were devoted to Him. When He was only thirteen of fourteen years old He became renowned for His learning. He would converse on any subject and solve any problem presented to Him. In large gatherings He would discuss matters with the Ulama (leading mullas) and would explain intricate religious questions. All of them used to listen to Him with the greatest interest. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, Quoted in ‘Baha'u'llah and the New Era’, by Dr. J.E. Esslemont)

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They should justify their claim to be Bahá'ís by deeds and not by name... He is a true Bahá'í who strives by day and by night to progress and advance along the path of human endeavor, whose most cherished desire is so to live and act as to enrich and illuminate the world, whose source of inspiration is the essence of Divine virtue, whose aim in life is so to conduct himself as to be the cause of infinite progress. Only when he attains unto such perfect gifts can it be said of him that he is a true Bahá'í. For in this holy Dispensation, the crowning glory of bygone ages and cycles, true Faith is no mere acknowledgement of the Unity of God, but rather the living of a life that will manifest all the perfections and virtues implied in such belief....  (‘Abdu’l-Baha, The Compilation of Compilations vol. I, Trustworthiness: A Cardinal Bahá'í Virtue; compilation: 'Lights of Guidance’)