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TABLET ON PURITY |
Cleanliness and sanctity in all conditions are characteristics of
pure beings and necessities of free souls. The first perfection consists
in cleanliness and sanctity and in purity from every defect.
When man in all conditions is pure and immaculate, he will become
the center of the reflection of the manifest Light. In all
his actions and conduct there must first be purity, then beauty and
independence. The channel must be cleansed before it is filled
with sweet water. The pure eye comprehendeth the sight and the
meeting of God; the pure nostril inhaleth the perfumes of the
rose-garden of bounty; the pure heart becometh the mirror of the
beauty of truth. This is why, in the heavenly Books, the divine
counsels and commands have been compared to water. So, in the
Qur’án it is said, “and we have caused a pure water to descend
from heaven;” and in the Gospel, “Except a man hath received
the baptism of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the
Kingdom of God.” Then it is evident that the divine teachings
are the heavenly grace and the showers of the mercy of God,
which purify the hearts of men.
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The meaning is, in all conditions, cleanliness and sanctity, purity
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and delicacy exalt humanity and make the contingent beings progress.
Even when applied to physical things, delicacy causeth the
attainment of spirituality, as it is established in the Holy Scriptures.
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External cleanliness, although it is but a physical thing, hath a
great influence upon spirituality. For example, although sound
is but the vibrations of the air which affect the tympanum of the
ear, and vibrations of the air are but an accident among the accidents
which depend upon the air, consider how much marvelous
notes or a charming song influence the spirits! A wonderful song
giveth wings to the spirit and filleth the heart with exaltation.
To return to the subject, the fact of having a pure and spotless
body likewise exerciseth an influence upon the spirit of man.
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Now, see how much purity is approved in the Court of God,
that it should be especially mentioned in the Holy Books of the
Prophets. So the Holy Books forbid the eating of any unclean
thing, or the use of anything which is not pure. Certain prohibitions
are absolute and imperative for all: he who commits that
which is forbidden is detested by God and excluded from the
number of the elect. This applieth to the things forbidden by
an absolute prohibition and of which the perpetration is a grave
sin; they are so vile that even to mention them is shameful. There
are other forbidden things which do not cause an immediate evil
and of which the pernicious effect is only gradually produced.
They are also abhorred, blamed and rejected by God, but their
prohibition is not recorded in an absolute way, although cleanliness
and sanctity, spotlessness and purity, the preservation of health
and independence are required by these interdictions.
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One of these last prohibitions is the smoking of tobacco, which
is unclean, malodorous, disagreeable and vulgar and of which the
gradual harmfulness is universally recognized. All clever physicians
have judged, and have also shown by experiment, that one
of the constituents of tobacco is a mortal poison and that smokers
are exposed to different indispositions and maladies. That is why
cleanly people have a marked aversion for its use.
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His supreme Highness the Báb—may my soul be His sacrifice!
—in the beginning of His Cause, openly forbade it and all the
friends abandoned its use. But, as it was a time for caution and
he who abstained from smoking was ill treated, persecuted and
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even killed, therefore the friends were obliged, as a matter of
prudence, to smoke. Later, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas was revealed and
as the prohibition of tobacco was not clearly stated in it, the
friends did not renounce it. But the Blessed Perfection had always
a marked aversion for its use. At the beginning of the Cause, for
certain reasons, He smoked a little, but later He abandoned it
completely, and the holy souls who obeyed Him in all circumstances,
also entirely gave up smoking. I wish to say that, in the
sight of God, the smoking of tobacco is a thing which is blamed
and condemned, very unclean, and of which the result is by degrees
injurious. Besides it is a cause of expense and of loss of time and
it is a harmful habit. So, for those who are firm in the Covenant,
it is a thing reprobated by the reason and by tradition, the renouncement
of which giveth gradual repose and tranquility, permitteth
one to have stainless hands and a clean mouth, and hair
which is not pervaded by a bad odor.
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As to the question of opium, disgusting and execrated, I resign
myself to God for its punishment. The formal text of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
forbids and reproves it and, according to reason, its use
leads to madness. Experience hath shown that he who giveth himself
up to it is completely excluded from the world of humanity.
Let us take refuge in God against the perpetration of so shameful
a thing, which is the destruction of the foundations of humanity
and which causeth a perpetual unhappiness. It taketh possession
of the soul of man, killeth the reason, weakeneth the intelligence,
maketh a living man dead and extinguisheth the natural heat.
It is impossible to imagine anything more pernicious. Happy is
he who never mentioneth the word opium! But what is the fate
of those who make use of it!
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O Lord! Give to the people of Bahá cleanliness and holiness in
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all conditions, purify and free them from all defilement, deliver
them from the use of all that is execrated, liberate them from the
chains of habits, so that they may be pure and free, clean and
spotless, that they may be worthy servants of the Sacred Threshold
and may deserve to enter into relation with God. Deliver them
from alcohol and tobacco, and save them from opium, the purveyor
of madness! Make them companions of the holy breezes,
in order that they may know the pleasures of the wine of the
love of God, and that they may attain to the joy and the happiness
of attraction to the Kingdom of Abhá!
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O friends of God! Experience hath shown how much the renouncing
of tobacco, wine and opium, giveth health, strength
and intellectual enjoyments, penetration of judgment and physical
vigor. There exists today a tribe which refrains and abstains from
tobacco, alcohol and opium and it completely excels all others in
power, in bravery, in health, beauty and grace. A single one of
these men can withstand ten men of other tribes, and this hath
been universally proved; that is to say, generally, the individuals
of this tribe are superior to the individuals of the other tribes.
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Therefore strive that the greatest cleanliness and sanctity, which
is the great desire of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, should be resplendent among
the Bahá’ís, and that the companions of God should surpass the
rest of mankind in all conditions and perfections; that they may
be physically and morally superior to others; that through cleanliness
and purity, refinement and health, they may be the chief of
wise men, and that by their affranchisement, their prudence, and
the control of their desires, they may be the princes of the pure,
the free and the wise.
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