About the Seven Valleys and copyright , Preface , Next Valley
This is the first valley in Baha'u'llahs epic spiritual work The Seven Valleys. It is considered to be a sacred text in the Baha'i Faith
The steed of this Valley is patience; without
patience the wayfarer on this journey will
reach nowhere and attain no goal. Nor should
he ever be downhearted; if he strive for a
hundred thousand years and yet fail to behold
the beauty of the Friend, he should not falter.
For those who seek the Ka'bih of "for Us"
rejoice in the tidings: "In Our ways will We
guide them." (Qur'an 29:69) In their search, they have stoutly
girded up the loins of service, and seek at
every moment to journey from the plane of
heedlessness into the realm of being. No bond
shall hold them back, and no counsel shall
deter them.
It is incumbent on these servants that they
cleanse the heart--which is the wellspring of
divine treasures--from every marking, and
that they turn away from imitation, which is
following the traces of their forefathers and
sires, and shut the door of friendliness and
enmity upon all the people of the earth.
In this journey the seeker reacheth a stage
wherein he seeth all created things wandering distracted in search of the Friend. How many
a Jacob will he see, hunting after his Joseph;
he will behold many a lover, hasting to seek
the Beloved, he will witness a world of desiring
ones searching after the One Desired. At every
moment he findeth a weighty matter, in every
hour he becometh aware of a mystery; for he
hath taken his heart away from both worlds,
and set out for the Ka'bih of the Beloved.
At every step, aid from the Invisible Realm
will attend him and the heat of his search will
grow.
One must judge of search by the standard
of the Majnun of Love. It is related that one
day they came upon Majnun sifting the dust,
and his tears flowing down.
They said, "What doest thou?"
He said, "I seek for Layli."
They cried, "Alas for thee! Layli is of pure spirit,
and thou seekest her in the dust!"
He said, "I seek her everywhere; haply somewhere I shall
find her."
Yea, although to the wise it be shameful to
seek the Lord of Lords in the dust, yet this
betokeneth intense ardor in searching. "Whoso
seeketh out a thing with zeal shall find it."
The true seeker hunteth naught but the object
of his quest, and the lover hath no desire
save union with his beloved. Nor shall the
seeker reach his goal unless he sacrifice all
things. That is, whatever he hath seen, and
heard, and understood, all must he set at
naught, that he may enter the realm of the
spirit, which is the City of God. Labour is
needed, if we are to seek Him; ardor is needed,
if we are to drink of the honey of reunion with
Him; and if we taste of this cup, we shall
cast away the world.
On this journey the traveler abideth in every
land and dwelleth in every region. In every face,
he seeketh the beauty of the Friend; in every
country he looketh for the Beloved. He joineth
every company, and seeketh fellowship with
every soul, that haply in some mind he may
uncover the secret of the Friend, or in some
face he may behold the beauty of the Loved
One.
And if, by the help of God, he findeth on
this journey a trace of the traceless Friend, and
inhaleth the fragrance of the long-lost Joseph from the heavenly messenger, he shall
straightway step into The Valley of Love