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Adorn yourselves with the raiment of goodly
deeds. He whose deeds attain unto God's good pleasure
is assuredly of the people of &Baha and is remembered
before His throne. Assist ye the Lord of all creation
with works of righteousness, and also through wisdom
and utterance. 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. 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. What! Would ye kill him whom God hath
quickened, whom He hath endowed with spirit
through a breath from Him? Grievous then would be
your trespass before His throne! Fear God, and lift not
the hand of injustice and oppression to destroy what He
hath Himself raised up; nay, walk ye in the way of
God, the True One. 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.
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God hath decreed, in token of His mercy unto His
creatures, that semen is not unclean. Yield thanks unto
Him with joy and radiance, and follow not such as are
remote from the Dawning-place of His nearness. Arise
ye, under all conditions, to render service to the Cause,
for God will assuredly assist you through the power of
His sovereignty which overshadoweth the worlds.
Cleave ye unto the cord of refinement with such
tenacity as to allow no trace of dirt to be seen upon your
garments. Such is the injunction of One Who is
sanctified above all refinement. Whoso falleth short of
this standard with good reason shall incur no blame.
God, verily, is the Forgiving, the Merciful. Wash ye
every soiled thing with water that hath undergone no
alteration in any one of the three respects; take heed not
to use water that hath been altered through exposure to
the air or to some other agent. Be ye the very essence of
cleanliness amongst mankind. This, truly, is what your
Lord, the Incomparable, the All-Wise, desireth for
you.
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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. Verily, all created things were
immersed in the sea of purification when, on that first
day of &Ridvan, We shed upon the whole of creation the
splendours of Our most excellent Names and Our most
exalted Attributes. This, verily, is a token of My loving
providence, which hath encompassed all the worlds.
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.
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God hath enjoined upon you to observe the utmost
cleanliness, to the extent of washing what is soiled
with dust, let alone with hardened dirt and similar
defilement. Fear Him, and be of those who are pure.
Should the garb of anyone be visibly sullied, his prayers
shall not ascend to God, and the celestial Concourse
will turn away from him. 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.
Continued...
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