The Baha'i Month of Mashiyyat (Will)

In today’s world, it is apparent that everyone of us has some concept of God being present in our activities, and usually the rationalization of an individual’s activities depends upon God’s will being involved.

The Bahá'í month of Mashiyyat (Will) is observed from September 27.


In thinking of God’s will, the phrase “…the will of God…” or “…God willing…“ has become something heard daily in the English language. Those words are frequently used by the news media, particularly in the event of tragedy, or in the suppositions of future events. Even those who don’t seem to spend much time in some sort of worship use them freely.

The Bahá'í Faith’s advent into the world some 160 years ago has caused great change in all human activity. Its parameters have forced the world into a mode of transition. Although its fragrances are ready and waiting for all of us, humans are generally unaware of its existence. As a result, the world is now jousting between the influences of the religions of the past, and “…this new world Order, the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed…”

Christians evoke God’s will comfortably through their almost ritual-like use of the Lord’s Prayer over and over again. Its phrase “…Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” provides them much comfort. Perhaps most believe that when His Kingdom comes, universal peace and harmony will happen with little to no effort required of them. As Baha’is, we understand that magical moments such as that occur only in myth. We know that the heavenly Kingdom, through God’s will, arrived in 1844 with the advent of the Báb. The world has been in warfare and struggle both before and since. The Kingdom will eventually be apparent, but only after the human race accepts God’s will and His terms.

In contemplating God’s will, the guiding force that motivates the direction for most human accomplishments and conclusions in this life, a portion of the Bahá'í Marriage Tablet provides an example of a major difference between the old and new world orders. It is not my intention to discuss or highlight the institution of marriage, but to provide a concrete example concerning the old and the new, particularly since God‘s will is mentioned.

“…they must show forth the utmost attention and become informed of one another’s character and the firm covenant made between each other must become an eternal binding, and their intentions must be everlasting affinity, friendship, unity and love, The bridegroom must, before the bridesman and a few others, say: “Verily, we are content with the will of God.“ And the bride must rejoin: “Verily, we are satisfied with the desire of God.“ This is Bahá'í matrimony…“

Marriage Tablet, Bahá'í World Faith, p.372, 1943 edition

Since Western cultures have for centuries used some form of ritualistic Christian-derived ceremony for the marriage contract, the simplicity of the Marriage Tablet and the lack of the affirmations of the two parties will take some getting used to. But look more closely at its terms; the two parties are enjoined to become aware of each other’s character before proceeding, (and there is also a provision of parental acceptance of the union.) The only spoken requirement of the bridegroom is “…we are content with the will of God…”; the bride must rejoin “…we are satisfied with the desire of God.” That’s it. 

And something else is significant. Whereas the Christian vows determine the union to last until “death do we part,” the Bahá'í ceremony relates that the marriage contract is an eternal binding. A major difference. As societies mature within the new Bahá'í world, I wonder if the act of marriage will itself force humans to ponder more deeply on the will of God? I would hope so, since marriage is perhaps the most significant and binding activity that is undertaken by humans. The union itself provides daily activity of continual thinking of another person’s needs rather than concentrating only on oneself. And wasn’t it `Abdu'l-Bahá who enjoined us to “…marry as an assistance to yourselves…?”

In today’s world, it is apparent that everyone of us has some concept of God being present in our activities, and usually the rationalization of an individual’s activities depends upon God’s will being involved. They sleep better at night because they have followed God’s will. But, what is the definition of God’s will? What truly determines God’s will in today‘s world? Does it come from life lessons learned from mommies and daddies? Of course it does, since the personality of the child is influenced largely by what she sees at home. And where did the parents learn of God’s will? Right. It becomes a never-ending chain to the past. We are all influenced greatly by the activities of our fore fathers and theirs.

I submit that the new world order will determine its definitions of God’s will from the meditative forces of one’s own understanding of the Bahá'í Teachings. And the Teachings themselves are structured so that prejudices of the past will disappear, and be displaced by a unique and wondrous system, the likes of which mortal eyes have never witnessed. The example learned from the Marriage Tablet will play a large part in the thought process since it speaks of an eternal bond between two individuals, and requires them to live their lives within an aura of God’s will and His desires for them.     

A transformation of our world for the better will occur through an understanding of, and a love for, the Bahá'í Teachings.

David Maxwell