Blessedness of the poor
Talks
[edit]- Talk at the Bowery Mission, Promulgation of Universal Peace, pp. 32-34
Blessed are the poor that are steadfast in patience
[edit]"Say: I swear by God! No one is despised in the sight of the Almighty for being poor. Rather is he exalted, if he is found to be of them who are patient. Blessed are the poor that are steadfast in patience, and woe betide the rich that hold back Huqúqu'lláh and fail to observe that which is enjoined upon them in His Preserved Tablet."
- (Bahá'u'lláh, Huqúqu'lláh (compilation), no. 25)
Blessed are the nameless poor for they are the leaders of mankind
[edit]"In short, O ye believers of God! Exalt your effort and magnify your aims. His Holiness Christ says: Blessed are the poor, for theirs shall be the Kingdom of Heaven.[+F2 Cf. Matthew 5:3] In other words: Blessed are the nameless and traceless poor, for they are the leaders of mankind. Likewise it is said in the Qur'án: "And We desire to show favor to those who were brought low in the land, and to make them spiritual leaders among men, and to make of them Our heirs."[+F3 Qur'án 28:5] Or, we wish to grant a favor to the impotent souls and suffer them to become the inheritors of the Messengers and Prophets."
Christ stated that blessed are the poor for riches do tend to prevent the rich from entering the Kingdom
[edit]"Bahá'u'lláh hath been made manifest to all mankind and He hath invited all to the table of God, the banquet of Divine bounty. Today, however, most of those who sit at that table are the poor, and this is why Christ hath said blessed are the poor, for riches do prevent the rich from entering the Kingdom; and again, He saith, `It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.'[+F1. Matthew 19:24; Mark 10:25] If, however, the wealth of this world, and worldly glory and repute, do not block his entry therein, that rich man will be favoured at the Holy Threshold and accepted by the Lord of the Kingdom.
"In brief, Bahá'u'lláh hath become manifest to educate all the peoples of the world. He is the Universal Educator, whether of the rich or the poor, whether of black or white, or of peoples from east or west, or north or south."
- ('Abdu'l-Bahá, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, sec. 163, p. 195)