Intone, O My servant, the verses of God that have been received by thee, as intoned by them who have drawn nigh unto Him, that the sweetness of thy melody may kindle thine own soul, and attract the hearts of all men. Whoso reciteth, in the privacy of his chamber, the verses revealed by God, the scattering angels of the Almighty shall scatter abroad the fragrance of the words uttered by his mouth, and shall cause the heart of every righteous man to throb. Though he may, at first, remain unaware of its effect, yet the virtue of the grace vouchsafed unto him must needs sooner or later exercise its influence upon his soul. Thus have the mysteries of the Revelation of God been decreed by virtue of the Will of Him Who is the Source of power and wisdom.

Bahá’u’lláh

أَنِ اقْرَأْ يَا عَبْدُ مَا وَصَلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ آثَارِ اللهِ بِرُبُوَاتِ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ لِتَسْتَجْذِبَ بِهَا نَفْسُكَ وَتَسْتَجْذِبَ مِنْ نَغَمَاتِكَ أَفْئِدَةُ الْخَلَائِقِ أَجْمَعِينَ وَمَنْ يَقْرَأْ آيَاتِ اللهِ مِنْ بَيْتِهِ وَحْدَةً لَيَنْشُرُ نَفَحَاتِهَا مَلَائِكَةُ النَّاشِرَاتِ إِلَى كُلِّ الْجِهَاتِ وَيَنْقَلِبُ بِهَا كُلُّ نَفْسٍ سَلِيمٍ وَلَوْ لَنْ يَسْتَشْعِرَ فِي نَفْسِهِ وَلَكِنْ يَظْهَرُ عَلَيْهِ هَذَا الْفَضْلُ فِي يَوْمٍ مِنَ الْأَيَّامِ كَذَلِكَ قُدِّرَ خَفِيَّاتُ الْأَمْرِ مِنْ لَدُنْ مُقْتَدِرٍ حَكِيمٍ

حضرة بهاءالله

This iconic passage comes from the Súriy-i-Ism, a Tablet of Baháʼuʼlláh revealed for Ḥájí Khalíl of Faraván, a believer who first embraced the Bábí religion and then the Baháʼí Faith. The English translation by Shoghi Effendi is published in Gleanings from the Writings of Baháʼuʼlláh, CXXXVI. For more on the life of Ḥájí Khalíl, be on the lookout for “Stories of Faith,” a forthcoming title by his great-grandson, Khalil A. Khavari, slated to be published by White Mountain Publications.

Original Sources

  • The source for the original Arabic text can be found here
  • The source for the English translation can be found here

Further References