inging them forth out of
darkness into the visible world! "He verily showeth His special mercy to
whomsoever He will."(2)

O Lord, help Thou Thy loved ones to acquire knowledge and the sciences and
arts, and to unravel the secrets that are treasured up in the inmost
reality of all created beings. Make them to hear the hidden truths that
are written and embedded in the heart of all that is. Make them to be
ensigns of guidance amongst all creatures, and piercing rays of the mind
shedding forth their light in this, the "first life."(3) Make them to be
leaders unto Thee, guides unto Thy path, runners urging men on to Thy
Kingdom.

Thou verily art the Powerful, the Protector, the Potent, the Defender, the
Mighty, the Most Generous.

--'Abdu'l-Baha

MARRIAGE

"He is the Bestower, the Bounteous!..."

"Baha'i marriage is union and cordial affection between the two parties.
They must, however, exercise the utmost care and become acquainted with
each other's character. This eternal bond should be made secure by a firm
covenant, and the intention should be to foster harmony, fellowship and
unity and to attain everlasting life."

--'Abdu'l-Baha

The pledge of marriage, the verse to be spoken individually by the bride
and the bridegroom in the presence of at least two witnesses acceptable to
the Spiritual Assembly is, as stipulated in the Kitab-i-Aqdas (The Most
Holy Book):

"We will all, verily, abide by the Will of God."

He is the Bestower, the Bounteous!

Praise be to God, the Ancient, the Ever-Abiding, the Changeless, the
Eternal! He Who hath testified in His Own Being that verily He is the One,
the Single, the Untrammelled, the Exalted. We bear witness that verily
there is no God but Him, acknowledging His oneness, confessing His
singleness. He hath ever dwelt in unapproachable heights, in the summits
of His loftiness, sanctified from the mention of aught save Himself, free
from the description of aught but Him.

And when He desired to manifest grace and beneficence to men, and to set
the world in order, He revealed observances and created laws; among them
He established the law of marriage, made it as a fortress for well-being
and salvation, and enjoined it upon us in that which was sent down out of
the heaven of sanctity in His Most Holy Book. He saith, great is His
glory: "Marry, O people, that from you may appear he who will remember Me
amongst My servants; this is one of My commandments unto yo