The Maiden of Heaven is the exalted being who appeared to Baha’u’llah to aid and comfort Him at the lowest point in His life when He – although accustomed to silk and comfort, and thought wise and gentle by all who met or knew of Him – was cast into the Black Pit of Tehran. His body was weighted down by iron neck collars, manacles, and chains that made cruel marks on Him lasting His entire life.
The Maiden of Heaven is similar to the Holy Spirit shown to Moses in the burning bush or the Dove that appeared above the head of Jesus at His baptism by John the Baptist, or the Angel Gabriel who appeared to Muhammad and commanded Him to “Recite.” If we deny this Maiden, we deny them all, and if we choose to deny them, we also disavow that “Verily God doeth whatsoever He willeth, and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth.” Clearly, God chooses His Manifestations. All we can do is independently investigate a claim to Revelation with an open heart, and only then can we justly choose to believe, or not to believe.
Baha’u’llah wrote of His experience in the Black Pit:
“While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice, calling above My head. Turning My face, I beheld a Maiden- the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lord – suspended in the air before Me. So rejoiced was she in her very soul that her countenance shone with the ornament of the good-pleasure of God, and her cheeks glowed with the brightness of the All-Merciful. Betwixt earth and heaven she was raising a call which captivated the hearts and minds of men. She was imparting to both My inward and outer being tidings which rejoiced My soul, and the souls of God’s honored servants. Pointing with her finger unto My head, she addressed all who are in heaven and all who are on earth, saying: ‘By God! This is the Best-Beloved of the worlds, and yet ye comprehend not. This is the Beauty of God amongst you, and the power of His sovereignty within you, could ye but understand. This is the Mystery of God and His Treasure, the Cause of God and His glory unto all who are in the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation, if ye be of them that perceive.'”