Long Suffering

If ye choose to follow Me, I will make you heirs of My Kingdom; and if ye transgress against Me, I will, in My long-suffering, endure it patiently, and I, verily, am the Ever-Forgiving, the All-Merciful.

O REBELLIOUS ONES! My forbearance hath emboldened you and My long-suffering hath made you negligent, in such wise that ye have spurred on the fiery charger of passion into perilous ways that lead unto destruction. Have ye thought Me heedless or that I was unaware?

Thy long-suffering hath puffed me up, and Thy patience hath emboldened me.

God knoweth well the heart of Husayn, the heat of His burning thirst and His long-suffering for the sake of God, the Incomparable, the Ancient of Days; and unto Him God is verily a witness.

And notwithstanding this, the response was to depend utterly upon God, and to remain composed, confident, long-suffering, undisturbed, to such a degree that a person knowing nothing of the situation would have thought us easy of heart and mind, perfectly happy, thriving and at peace.

Bahá’u’lláh has clearly said in His Tablets that if you have an enemy, consider him not as an enemy. Do not simply be long-suffering; nay, rather, love him. Your treatment of him should be that which is becoming to lovers. Do not even say that he is your enemy. Do not see any enemies. Though he be your murderer, see no enemy. Look upon him with the eye of friendship. Be mindful that you do not consider him as an enemy and simply tolerate him, for that is but stratagem and hypocrisy. To consider a man your enemy and love him is hypocrisy. This is not becoming of any soul. You must behold him as a friend. You must treat him well. This is right.

God seeketh fellowship, purity, sanctity and long-suffering; these are the attributes of Divinity.

It is incumbent upon thee, since thou hast attained the knowledge of God and His love, to sacrifice thy spirit and all thy conditions for the life of the world, bearing every difficulty for the comfort of the souls, sinking to the depth of the sea of ordeals for the sake of the love of faithfulness and burning with the fire of torture and regret like unto a lamp while the light is shining from thee unto the surroundings.

The prime requisites for them that take counsel together are purity of motive, radiance of spirit, detachment from all else save God, attraction to His Divine Fragrances, humility and lowliness amongst His loved ones, patience and long-suffering in difficulties and servitude to His exalted Threshold. Should they be graciously aided to acquire these attributes, victory from the unseen Kingdom of Bahá shall be vouchsafed to them.

They must be patient and long-suffering, that they may grow to become the divine magnets of the Abhá Kingdom and acquire the dynamic power of the hosts of the realm on high.

Thou seest, O my God! how my long-suffering, my forbearance and silence have increased their cruelty, their arrogance and their pride.

We lack patience in tests and in long-suffering; permit us to attain the lights of oneness.

At present the state of affairs is in turmoil, tribulations are manifold and the authorities have launched attacks from every direction. However, the invisible Hand of God is at work and the wrathful Avenger is watching over the oppressed community of the righteous and the pious. Things that were hidden will be revealed and realities that were unknown will become clear and evident. The innocence of those long-suffering and sanctified beings will definitely be proved and established, and every act of injustice, of iniquity and malice wrought by the evil-doers will be laid bare.

How pitiful if we, who are recognized as the bearers of His glorious Name, and related to such an omnipotent Lord, should. in moments of adversity, fail to scrupulously follow the noble example set by Him Who stands peerless in His long-suffering.

The hosts of Bahá, the concourse of the sore-oppressed ones in that afflicted country, should all know with absolute certainty that the Cause of God is great, and its strengthening grace quickens every mouldering bone; its heavenly confirmations are ever present, and its adversaries on the offensive, launching their attacks from all sides. On the one hand they are seized with perturbation and alarm at the sight of the quaking of the foundations of their own structure, and its breakdown and collapse, while on the other hand they are amazed and bewildered at the people of Bahá, and their high degree of tranquillity and firmness, and their long-suffering and unshakable patience. This is the day for steadfastness. Now is the time for defence and bravery, so that the evil ones who are lying in wait may be disconcerted, defeated and put to flight, and the prophecies irrevocably decreed by God may be fulfilled without delay.

How wonderful that it has been possible to convene this Conference on African soil with such a large number of African friends in attendance, in loving memory of the most distinguished heroine of the Bahá’í Dispensation, the eldest daughter of the King of Glory, who lived a long life of sacrificial service to the Cause of her Beloved Father. Her meekness, her unassuming nature, the purity of her soul, the sensitivity of her heart, the calmness of her demeanour, her patience and long-suffering in trials, and above all, her unshakeable faith, her tenderness and love, and the spirit of self-renunciation which she evinced throughout her blessed life, are outstanding characteristics that we can well emulate.

Bahá’u’lláh throws light upon patience, one of the most important virtues which God has bestowed on man. He extols the station of those believers who endured hardships and calamities with patience and resignation. Through their fortitude and constancy, their forbearance and long-suffering, these souls attained to such a lofty position that the Concourse on high seek their companionship and long for their blessings. Bahá’u’lláh urges the people of the Bayan to do likewise, counselling them to adorn their beings with the mantle of resignation, to be steadfast in the Cause of God, and never to be dismayed or disheartened by adversity. And He reminds them that, whereas God rewards every good deed in accordance with its merit, in the case of patience and long-suffering, as attested in the Qur'án, the recompense is limitless.

Patience is called for, and long-suffering, and trust in God, and the seeking of His favour.

The vesture that best befits us in this world is the vesture of patience and submission, and the most meritorious of all deeds is to commit our affairs into His hands and to surrender ourselves to His Will. Therefore, it behoves that leaf to take fast hold on the handle of resignation and radiant acquiescence and to strictly adhere to the cord of patience and long-suffering.