A Tablet of Bahá'u'lláh on the Importance of Cleanliness

1. Translation (see Arabic text below)

About: What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a passage from a Tablet of Bahá’u’lláh, the original text of which has been published in Áthár-i-Qalam-i-A‘lá, vol. 1 (2006 ed.), p. 404 (selection no. 151). [-A.M. 2025]

O My handmaid! Know thou that We have raised up bounty itself in the form of this Tablet and sent it unto thee, that thou mayest glory therein amidst creation. We entered thine abode whilst thou wert oblivious thereof, and We perceived not from it the sweet savour of holiness. Thus doth the All-Informed apprise thee.

Cleanse ye, O people, your homes, and purify your attire from whatsoever is abhorrent unto God. Thus doth the All-Knowing admonish you. We, verily, love cleanliness in all circumstances. Beware lest ye transgress the bounds of that whereunto ye have been bidden in the Book of God, the Almighty, the All-Praised.

Adorn your temples with the raiment of piety, which consisteth not of tattered garments, nor of wool and cotton that are outworn,* but rather of such purity and wisdom as will guard you against corrupt desires. This indeed is the truth, did ye but know it.

Be ye the very essences of cleanliness, for whoso is not possessed thereof will fail to perceive the fragrances of the All-Merciful, nor shall the dwellers of the celestial paradise seek his company. Fear ye God, and be not of the ignorant.

Cleanse ye whatsoever is abhorrent to a sanctified nature. Thus have ye been commanded aforetime by Him Who is the Omnipotent, the Almighty. Observe that which We have enjoined upon you in Our Tablets, and beware lest ye follow the heedless. Verily, they that act in heedlessness rove distraught in the wilderness of error.

As for thee, O My handmaid, quaff the living waters of utterance from the words of thy Lord, then render thanks and prostrate thyself before the countenance of thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. Thus have We imparted unto thee the truth, beyond which there is naught but grievous error.

* Bahá’u’lláh’s examples here refer indirectly to the Sufis, whose threadbare clothing was meant to symbolize their piety.

2. Arabic