For What Reason Do We Have Free Will?

Together we have traversed six of the seven Valleys. Now we reach our destination, the Valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness. Each stage of the journey has lead us to this place-our final destination. We throw aside all of our previous conceptions, ideas, beliefs, possessions, positions... simply put, using the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "Nay, our lives, our goods, our comforts, our rest, we offer them all as a sacrifice for the Abhá Beauty and teach the Cause of God" (Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá)

But what is this final destination? Last time we mentioned the idea of free will. What is free will? Going to Some Answered Questions, it writes, "...in all the action or inaction of man, he receives power from the help of God; but the choice of good or evil belongs to the man himself." It is a two pronged process. We have the choice of doing whatever we want, hence the many dichotomies of life. However, with each action we are assisted by God. Does this mean then that God will help us with any evil action we choose to commit?

In the 5th Arabic Hidden Word, it is written, "Love Me, that I may love thee. If thou lovest Me not, My love can in no wise reach thee." Also, the Short Obligatory Prayer Writes, "I bear witness, O my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee." Also, note the phrase from the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá from above. Let us put the entire thing together.

We were created to worship God. Returning to the Valley of Love, we know that love and worship can be equated to one another because we would do anything for our loved one and we consider him/her the sole focus of our lives. Using the same Valley, we know that all love stems from our love for God. By loving God, His Love will return to us-thus His assistance in all of our daily lives. But this does not answer the question from above. Does God help with all actions we commit, including those considered "evil?" This is where the quote from 'Abdu'l-Bahá comes into play. Our worshiping of God consists of detaching ourselves of all things and teaching His Cause. If we are not teaching His Cause (which can assume to be "good"), then we are not worshiping God, thus not loving Him and thus being veiled away from His love.

The 7th Arabic Hidden Word writes, "If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself; and if thou seekest My pleasure, regard not thine own; that thou mayest die in Me and I may eternally live in thee." This Hidden Word may be broken into three parts.

1. "If thou lovest Me, turn away from thyself..." This represents the first three Valleys. We lay aside our previous preconceptions of life, fall in love with God and give up our worldly titles and possessions and find the wisdom behind our pains and sufferings. We are detached from the material realm.

2. "...and if thou seekest My pleasure, regard not thine own..." This represents the second three Valleys. We find that we are no longer attached to this earth as everything comes from God, that we are content with whatever occurs as we are rich in spirit and everywhere around us is creation. We are detached from ourselves.

3. "...that thou mayest die in Me and I may eternally live in thee." This represents the final Valley. Using our free will, we have detached ourselves from everything but God, and we make our will the Will of God. Our every move, our every breath is for God. It does not mean we become God, but we become of God. We become a channel through which God's Love may enter throughout humanity. This comes from teaching.

Now what does the name of the Valley mean? Why is it the Valley of True Poverty and Absolute Nothingness? Essentially, we have become poor in everything except in God. Bahá'u'lláh states it rather clearly, declaring, "Poverty as here referred to signifieth being poor in the things of the created world, rich in the things of God’s world." (Seven Valleys) It is due to this poverty that our Faith becomes an unmovable pillar.

It can be considered that to enter this Valley, one must live as a monk or dervish and possess nothing. But this is not true. So long as we are detached from all things, we are impoverished. The 55th Arabic Hidden Word writes, "Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold, and with gold We test Our servants." Gold can symbolize the material things of this Earth. They were given to us for our enjoyment. But, these material things are also placed on this Earth to test us and our detachment (or our attachment to God).

The beauty of the seventh Valley is that it is no ordinary form of detachment. We realize that this earth is nothing but dust and mortal, much like our physical selves. There is no purpose of even attaching ourselves to any of it.

But an interesting question comes up. In the forth Valley, we learn each person has different capacities and we cannot transcend our own capacities. Does this mean that some people may not reach this seventh Valley? Bahá'u'lláh seems to hint at this idea writing, "This is the goal thou didst ask for (from the first Valley); if it be God’s will, thou wilt gain it."

To stay in this Valley, we need to follow the Law of God unwaveringly. If not, we fall from the grace of God.


Before ending, it is important to note that none of the Seven Valleys have a specific end point or beginning point. It is a journey which melds into itself. The traveling of these seven Valleys seems daunting and impossible. We have been given tools to assist us though. Reading through the Hidden Words, one will begin to realize a parallel structure between what is asked of us by God from the Hidden Words and our journey through the Seven Valleys. The Seven Valleys tell us what we need to do. The Hidden Words tell us how we need to do it. The Kitab-i-Aqdás (The Most Holy Book-the Bahá'í Book of Laws) contains the tools to which we advance ourselves.

Next time we will see what we can do now after finishing the Seven Valleys of Bahá'u'lláh.