And the honor and distinction of the individual consist in this, that he among all the world’s multitudes should become a source of social good. Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellow men? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá

و شرافت و مفخرتِ انسان در آن است كه بينِ ملأِ امكان منشأِ خيری گردد در عالمِ وجود آيا نعمتی اعظم از آن متصوّر است كه انسان چون در خود نگرد مشاهده كند كه به توفيقاتِ الهيّه سببِ آسايش و راحت و سعادت و منفعتِ هيئتِ بشريّه است لا والله بلكه لذّت و سعادتی اتمّ و اكبر از این نه

حضرت عبدالبهاء

This is a passage from The Secret of Divine Civilization, a treatise written by ʻAbdu’l-Bahá in 1875. Many of the words in this passage rhyme—sharáfat, mafkharat, niʻmat, ráḥat, saʻádat, manfaʻat, hayʼat, and lidhdhat—because they are originally Arabic words that follow similar “patterns” (awzán) for forming verbal nouns.

Original Sources

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

Further References