[1] “In all religious teachings of the past the human world has been represented as divided into two parts: one known as the people of the Book of God, or the pure tree, and the other the people of infidelity and error, or the evil tree. The former were considered as belonging to the faithful, and the others to the hosts of the irreligious and infidel—one part of humanity the recipients of divine mercy, and the other the object of the wrath of their Creator. Bahā’u’llāh removed this by proclaiming the oneness of the world of humanity, and this principle is specialized in His teachings, for He has submerged all mankind in the sea of divine generosity,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 454.

[2] “The foundation laid by all Prophets, is the foundation of Bahā’u’llāh and that foundation is the Oneness of Humanity,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Khaṭābāt (Tehran), vol. 2, p. 286; “All divine prophets struggled for the Oneness of Humanity and served humanity. For the foundation of the divine teachings is the Oneness of Humanity. Moses served the Oneness of Humanity, Jesus established the Oneness of Humanity, Mohammad declared the Oneness of Humanity. The Bible, Torah, and Quran established the foundation of the Oneness of Humanity,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Khaṭābāt (Egypt), vol. 1, pp. 18–19.

[7] “The second principle is the Oneness of Humanity: all humans are divine sheep and God is the kind shepherd who has utter compassion towards all the sheep and has made no distinction [between them],” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb, vol. 3, p. 67.

[8] “When Djemal Pasha . . . reached Acre and asked to see me, I mounted a donkey and headed for his home. As soon as he saw me, he greeted me and sat me next to him and without hesitation said: ‘You are a corrupter of religion and that is why the government of Iran exiled you here . . .’ I thought to myself that he is a Turk and I must give him a ridiculous and silencing answer,” Asad-Allāh Fāḍil Māzandarānī, Asrār al-āthār khuṣūṣī, vol. 3, p. 42–43.

[9] “When there is oneness of humanity how can we have differences by saying that [person] is German, this is British, this is French, this is Turkish, this one is Roman, and that one is Iranian?” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Khaṭābāt (Egypt), vol. 1, p. 160; “One must never say this [person] is English, that is German, that is French, and this is Italian. Never utter these words for you are all God’s servants and maids,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Khaṭābāt (Egypt), vol. 1, p. 75.

[10] Asrār al-āthār khuṣūṣī, vol. 3, p. 42–43.

[11] “Bahā’u’llāh expressed the oneness of humankind, whereas in all religious teachings of the past the human world has been represented as divided into two parts: one known as the people of the Book of God, or the pure tree, and the other the people of infidelity and error, or the evil tree. The former were considered as belonging to the faithful, and the others to the hosts of the irreligious and infidel—one part of humanity the recipients of divine mercy, and the other the object of the wrath of their Creator. Bahā’u’llāh removed this by proclaiming the oneness of the world of humanity, and this principle is specialized in His teachings, for He has submerged all mankind in the sea of divine generosity.” `Abdu’l-Bahā, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 454.

[13] Bahā’u’llāh, The Kitābi Aqdas, p. 72.

[14] “All humanity are the creation of one God and all the sheep (meaning the humans) are under the shadow of one shepherd and one shepherd administers all. Thus, the divine sheep must interact with each other with utter affection. If one wanders away, they should return him and accompany him,” `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Payām-i malakūt, p.  44 (citing `Abdu’l-Bahā’).

[16]“Today, according to the decree of the Point of Bayān (meaning the Bāb), those individuals who turn away from this Novel Affair (meaning Baha’ism) are deprived of the garb of being called and described [as humans?] and are assembled and mentioned as animals in the presence of God,” Bahā’u’llāh, Badī`, p. 213.

[18]`Abdu’l-Bahā, Khaṭābāt (Tehran), vol. 2, pp. 145–146.

[19]“we must not desire ourselves and must regard others as better than ourselves, even those who are not believers,” `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Ganjīniy-i ḥudūd wa aḥkām, chap. 49, p. 326.

[20] “Today, according to the decree of the Point of Bayān (meaning the Bāb), those individuals who turn away from this Novel Affair (meaning Baha’ism) are deprived of the garb of being called and described [as humans?] and are assembled and mentioned as animals in the presence of God,” Bahā’u’llāh, Badī`, p. 213; “Do not see the polytheists (deniers of Baha’ism) but as earthworms and their sounds but the buzzing of flies,” Bahā’u’llāh, Āthār-i Qalam-i A`lā, vol. 1, no. 20, p. 183; “O group of polytheists (deniers of Baha’ism), if you take pride in your name remaining amongst the animals or being mentioned amongst the livestock, then take pride in that for you are worthy of it,” Bahā’u’llāh, Āthār-i Qalam-i A`lā, vol. 2, no. 81, p. 452; “Oh you donkeys! Whatever God says is the truth and will not become void by the words of the polytheists (deniers of Baha’ism),” Bahā’u’llāh, Badī`, p. 174; “When the one who turned away from God halted (in accepting me) and fell off the path, in that moment his body left the garb of humanness and appeared and became visible in the skin of animals. Sanctified is He who changes the beings how he likes,” Bahā’u’llāh, Badī`, p. 110.

[22] Bahā’u’llāh, Majmū`iy-i alwāḥ-i mubārak-ih, p. 265.

[23] `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Mā’idiy-i āsimānī, vol. 4, pp. 353.

[25] “From this day, any individual that mentions as human a single person from those who deny me—whether that [denier] has a high or low stature—they will be excluded from all of (God’s) Merciful Graces, let alone trying to prove [those deniers] have dignity or stature,” Bahā’u’llāh, Badī`, p. 140.

[26] “Thus, the divine sheep must interact with each other with utter affection. If one wanders away they should return him and accompany him,” `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Payām-i malakūt, p.44 (citing `Abdu’l-Bahā’).

[27] “A question was asked about the friends that, as a result of their ignorance and neglect, had been excluded from administrative affairs about whether they should be invited to public assemblies or not? He (Shoghi) said, ‘Inviting them is not permitted.’ And it was asked about those that had been excluded from the community whether greeting and speaking with them was permitted? He replied, ‘If they have been spiritually excommunicated speaking with them is not permitted in any way,’” Shoghi Effendi, Tauqī’āt Mubāraki (1945–1952), pp. 94–95.

[28] “God the Exalted has put the crown of grace and beneficence on man’s head so that he shows kindness and affection to all things that possess a soul and to make apparent the greatness of the world of humanity,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Tehran), vol. 8, p. 227.

[30] “All of humanity are members of the human species. They are all servants of God. They have all been created by God. They are all divine children. God gives sustenance to all of them; nurtures all of them; is compassionate to all of them; why should we be uncompassionate?” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Khaṭābāt (Tehran), vol. 2, pp. 145–146.

[31] “When his holiness returned from Sulaymaniyah, he was strolling in the street one day with the late Āqā Mīrzā Muḥammad Qulī. A Kabob seller quietly said, ‘These Bābīs have appeared again!’ The Blessed Beauty said to Mīrzā Muḥammad Qulī, ‘Hit him in the mouth!’ Mīrzā Muḥammad Qulī grabbed his beard and started hitting him in the head,” Ḥabīb Mu’ayyad, Khāṭirāti Ḥabīb, vol. 1, p. 266.

[32] “Oh followers of Bahā! You were—and are—the starting point of affection and the beginning place of divine favors. Do not stain your tongue by swearing and cursing . . . do not be the cause of sadness,” `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Ganjīniy-i ḥudūd wa aḥkām, chap. 47, p. 322.

[33] “They are senile like arrogant fools and not seashells full of gems. They are ecstatic from the smell of garbage like dung beetles and not from the scent of a flower of gardens. They are lowly earthworms buried beneath the great earth not high flying birds. They are bats of darkness not the searchlights of clear horizons. They always make excuses and like ravens, have nested in the landfills of fall (Autumn) . . . so you Oh true friend and spiritual helper . . . attack these unjust foxes and like a high soaring eagle drive away these hateful ravens from this field,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Egypt), vol. 1, pp. 442–443.

[35] “One cannot be kind to a tyrant, traitor, or thief, for kindness will make them revolt instead of awakening them. The more you show affection to a liar, the more lies he will tell,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Egypt), vol. 3, p. 211.

[36] “Politeness is one of mankind’s traits that distinguishes him from other [creatures]. He who has no success in [being polite] then his demise certainly has—and will have—priority over his existence,” Bahā’u’llāh, Badī`, pp. 203–204.

[37] “The divine principles in this luminous era are such that one must not insult anyone,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Egypt), vol. 1, p. 355.

[38]“Oh you donkeys! Whatever God says is the truth and will not become void by the words of the polytheists,” Bahā’u’llāh, Badī`, p. 174.

[39] “When Mīrzā Yaḥyā Azal started opposing the works, deeds, and words of his esteemed brother (Bahā’u’llāh) in Edirne . . . he plunged from his [high] stature and the rank of union and agreement [that he had with Bahā’u’llāh] and was gradually— in the tablets, works, and revelations [from Bahā’u’llāh]— referred to with codes, references, and names such as the polytheist, the calf, the scarab (dung beetle), the tyrant, the Satan, the devil, the foul swamp, the buzzing of a fly, and similar names,” Asad-Allāh Fāḍil Māzandarānī, Asrār al-āthār khuṣūṣī, vol. 5, p. 345–346.

[40] “Make bloodthirsty wolves smell the scent of musk like gazelles,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb, vol. 3, p. 160.

[41] “If you are kind to a wolf you are betraying the sheep because it will destroy a herd of sheep. If you give a dog that bites the opportunity, it will kill thousands of humans and animals. Thus showing affection to savage animals is equal to being unfair to oppressed animals,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Egypt), vol. 3, p. 212.

[42] `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Ganjīniy-i ḥudūd wa aḥkām, chap. 49, p. 326.

[43] “Whoever denies this apparent exalted luminous grace (meaning Baha’ism), it is worthy that he asks his state from his mother and he will soon be returned to the bottom of hell,” `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Mā’idiy-i āsimānī, vol. 4, pp. 355 and `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Ganj-i shāygān, p. 78; “Whoever has the enmity of this servant (meaning Bahā’u’llāh) in his heart, certainly Satan has entered their mother’s bed,” `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Ganj-i shāygān, p. 79.

[44] “Apply ointment to the wounds of tyrants and heal the pain of oppressors,” Asad-Allāh Fāḍil Māzandarānī, Amr wa khalq, vol. 3,p. 228.

[45] “One cannot be kind to a tyrant, traitor, or thief, for kindness will make them revolt instead of awakening them. The more you show affection to a liar, the more lies he will tell,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Egypt), vol. 3, p. 211.

[46] “We must . . . warn the unaware, show compassion to the enemies, and love the foes,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Egypt), vol. 1, p. 288.

[47] “Know that God has forbidden his friends from meeting with the polytheists (deniers of Baha’ism) and hypocrites,” `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Mā’idiy-i āsimānī, vol. 4, pp. 280.

[48] “We must . . . warn the unaware, show compassion to the enemies, and love the foes,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Makātīb (Egypt), vol. 1, p. 288.

[49] “Thus, O inhabitants of my orchard, protect yourselves from the wicked poisonous breath and void breeze which is socializing with the polytheists (deniers of Baha’ism) and the unaware (ghāfil),” `Abd al-Ḥamīd Ishrāq Khāwarī, Mā’idiy-i āsimānī, vol. 8, p. 39.

[50] “Whatsoever hath led the children of men to shun one another, and hath caused dissensions and divisions amongst them, hath, through the revelation of these words, been nullified and abolished,” Bahā’u’llāh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 95.

[51] “Shun any man in whom you perceive enmity for this Servant, though he may appear in the garb of piety of the former and later people, or may arise to the worship of the two worlds,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Bahā’ī World Faith—Selected Writings of Bahā’u’llāh and `Abdu’l-Bahā (`Abdu’l-Bahā’s Section Only), p. 431.

[52] “One thing remains to be said: it is that the communities are day and night occupied in making penal laws, and in preparing and organizing instruments and means of punishment. They build prisons, make chains and fetters, arrange places of exile and banishment, and different kinds of hardships and tortures, and think by these means to discipline criminals, whereas, in reality, they are causing destruction of morals and perversion of characters,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Some Answered Questions, p. 271; “The community, on the contrary, ought day and night to strive and endeavor with the utmost zeal and effort to accomplish the education of men, to cause them day by day to progress and to increase in science and knowledge, to acquire virtues, to gain good morals and to avoid vices, so that crimes may not occur. At the present time the contrary prevails; the community is always thinking of enforcing the penal laws, and of preparing means of punishment, instruments of death and chastisement, places for imprisonment and banishment; and they expect crimes to be committed. This has a demoralizing effect,” `Abdu’l-Bahā, Some Answered Questions, p. 272.

[53] “The Hands of the Cause of God must be ever watchful and so soon as they find anyone beginning to oppose and protest against the Guardian of the Cause of God, cast him out from the congregation of the people of Bahā and in no wise accept any excuse from him. How often hath grievous error been disguised in the garb of truth, that it might sow the seeds of doubt in the hearts of men!” `Abdu’l-Bahā, The Will and Testament of `Abdu’l-Bahā, p. 12.

[54] “He should not wish for others that which he doth not wish for himself, nor promise that which he doth not fulfil [sic],” Bahā’u’llāh, Gleanings from the Writings of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 266.

[55] Bahā’u’llāh, Badī`, p. 213.

[56] Bahā’u’llāh, Āthār-i Qalam-i A`lā, vol. 1, no. 64, p. 276.

[58] “God will soon take out from the sleeves of power the hands of strength and dominance and will make the Servant (Bahā’u’llāh) victorious and will cleanse the earth from the filth of every rejected polytheist (denier of Baha’ism). And they will stand by the cause and will conquer the lands using my mighty eternal name and will enter the lands and they will be feared by all the servants,” Bahā’u’llāh, Āthār-i Qalam-i A`lā, vol. 2, no. 90, p. 587.

[59] ““Exile and imprisonment are decreed for the thief, and, on the third offence, place ye a mark upon his brow so that, thus identified, he may not be accepted in the cities of God and His countries,” Bahā’u’llāh, The Kitābi Aqdas, pp. 35–36.

[60] “Should anyone intentionally destroy a house by fire, him also shall ye burn; should anyone deliberately take another’s life, him also shall ye put to death. Take ye hold of the precepts of God with all your strength and power, and abandon the ways of the ignorant. Should ye condemn the arsonist and the murderer to life imprisonment, it would be permissible according to the provisions of the Book. He, verily, hath power to ordain whatsoever He pleaseth,” Bahā’u’llāh, The Kitābi Aqdas, p. 203.

[61] “It is better not to read books by Covenant-breakers because they are haters of the Light, sufferers from a spiritual leprosy, so to speak. But books by well-meaning yet unenlightened enemies of the Cause can be read so as to refute their charges,” Helen Bassett Hornby, Lights of Guidance: A Bahā’ī Reference File, chap. XII, no. 628.