Paying Huquq during one’s own lifetime or through one’s will

Great is the recompense that God has ordained for the true and devoted souls, the pure and detached beings who have spontaneously bequeathed a portion of their earthly possessions to the Cause of God, either during their own lifetimes or through their wills, and have had the privilege and honour of discharging their obligations to Huqúqu'lláh.

Give assurance on my behalf to the donors and to the survivors of those who have ascended unto God, affirming that these efforts and donations are bound to attract divine confirmations, heavenly blessings and incalculable favours, and to promote the manifold interests of the International Bahá'í Community. Well is it with them, inasmuch as God has enabled them to fulfil that which shall elevate their stations in this world and in the world to come. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, 23 June 1945, translated from the Persian) The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I, Huququ’llah)

‘Abdu’l-Baha’s response to offers of financial assistance and gifts - an account during His last days in America

In his famous diaries Mirza Mahmud recounts a story of 'Abdu'l-Baha when He was in New York shortly before His departure from the United States:

... that day some of the friends presented 'Abdu'l-Baha with some funds, but He did not take them in spite of their persistently begging Him to accept them. He said: 

"Offer it up to the poor on my behalf. It would be as if I have personally given it to them. But for me the best gift is the unity between the loved ones of God, their service to the Cause, the diffusion of divine fragrances and their carrying out the teachings and exhortations of the Blessed Beauty..."

On such occasions the believers became very sad, because their offerings were not accepted by their Beloved. In spite of this, the believers in New York, knowing that these were the last few days of His stay in the United States, gathered some presents for the members of the Holy Family (including the wife of 'Abdu'l-Baha, His sister, daughters and other female members of His household) . .. . Some of the friends had vowed together that they would persist in their request for acceptance of the gifts, that they would cling to the hem of His garment and not leave His presence until He had accepted their offerings. They presented their gifts and earnestly pleaded with Him to take them. He then spoke to them in these words:

How to become free from material attachments

Question: How must we cut our hearts from the World?

‘Abdu’l-Baha said:

“The hearts that are directed towards God, the love that burns in them, that love will separate them from all other things; that love will be the wall that will come between them and every other desire”

“The nearer to God the farther from the world; the nearer to the fire, the farther from the cold; the nearer to life, the farther from death. This is the balance, this is the balance!”

- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Words of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, recorded by Anne Apperson Flint, February 1899, Akka)

A blessed soul…

Many a chilled heart, O my God, hath been set ablaze with the fire of Thy Cause, and many a slumberer hath been wakened by the sweetness of Thy voice. How many are the strangers who have sought shelter beneath the shadow of the tree of Thy oneness, and how numerous the thirsty ones who have panted after the fountain of Thy living waters in Thy days!

Blessed is he that hath set himself towards Thee, and hasted to attain the Day-Spring of the lights of Thy face. Blessed is he who with all his affections hath turned to the Dawning-Place of Thy Revelation and the Fountain-Head of Thine inspiration. Blessed is he that hath expended in Thy path what Thou didst bestow upon him through Thy bounty and favor. Blessed is he who, in his sore longing after Thee, hath cast away all else except Thyself. Blessed is he who hath enjoyed intimate communion with Thee, and rid himself of all attachment to any one save Thee.

I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by Him Who is Thy Name, Who, through the power of Thy sovereignty and might, hath risen above the horizon of His prison, to ordain for every one what becometh Thee and beseemeth Thine exaltation.

Thy might, in truth, is equal to all things. 

- Baha’u’llah  (‘Prayers and Meditations by Baha’u’llah’)

The “mystic feeling that unites man with God”

…the core of religious faith is that mystic feeling that unites man with God. This state of spiritual communion can be brought about and maintained by means of meditation and prayer. And this is the reason why Bahá'u'lláh has so much stressed the importance of worship. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (From a letter dated 8 December 1935 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, published in "Bahá'í News" 102, August 1936; The Compilation of Compilations, Vol. II, The Importance of Prayer, Meditation and the Devotional Attitude)