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Baha1

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Lauded be Thy name, O my God! I testify that no thought of Thee, howsoever
wondrous, can ever ascend into the heaven of Thy knowledge, and no praise
of Thee, no matter how transcendent, can soar up to the atmosphere of Thy
wisdom. From eternity Thou hast been removed far above the reach and the
ken of the comprehension of Thy servants, and immeasurably exalted above
the strivings of Thy bondslaves to express Thy mystery. What power can the
shadowy creature claim to possess when face to face with Him Who is the
Uncreated?
I bear witness that the highest thoughts of all such as adore Thy unity,
and the profoundest contemplations of all them that have recognized Thee,
are but the product of what hath been generated through the movement of
the Pen of Thy behest, and hath been begotten by Thy will. I swear by Thy
glory, O Thou Who art the Beloved of my soul and the Fountain of my life!
I am persuaded of my powerlessness to describe and extol Thee in a manner
that becometh the greatness of Thy glory and the excellence of Thy
majesty. Aware as I am of this, I beseech Thee, by Thy mercy that hath
surpassed all created things, and Thy grace that hath embraced the entire
creation, to accept from Thy servants what they are capable of showing
forth in Thy path. Aid them, then, by Thy strengthening grace, to exalt
Thy word and to blazon Thy praise.
Powerful art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou, truly, art the
All-Glorious, the All-Wise.
I know not, O my God, what the Fire is with which Thou didst light the
Lamp of Thy Cause, or what the Glass wherewith Thou didst preserve it from
Thine enemies. By Thy might! I marvel at the wonders of Thy Revelation,
and at the tokens of Thy glory. I recognize, O Thou Who art my heart's
Desire, that were fire to be touched by water it would instantly be
extinguished, whereas the Fire which Thou didst kindle can never go out,
though all the seas of the earth be poured upon it. Should water at any
time touch it, the hands of Thy power would, as decreed in Thy Tablets,
transmute that water into a fuel that would feed its flame.
I, likewise, recognize, O my God, that every lamp, when exposed to the
fury of the winds, must cease from burning. As to Thy Lamp, however, O
Beloved of the worlds, I cannot think what power except Thy power could
have kept it safe for so many years from the tempests that have
continually been directed upon it by the rebellious among Thy creatures.
I swear by Thy glory, O my God! Thy Lamp which Thou didst light within the
tabernacle of man crieth out to Thee and saith: "O Thou the one alone
Beloved! How long wilt Thou forsake me? Lift me up to Thee, I pray Thee.
Though this wish of mine be the wish of a human creature, yet Thou knowest
that my true wish is to sacrifice myself in Thy path. Thou art He Who hath
made my desire to be the same as Thy desire, and my will the same as Thy
will. Do Thou preserve Thy loved ones, I beseech Thee, in the shelter of
Thy shadowing mercy which transcendeth all things, that haply the
sufferings they bear may not deter them from turning in the direction of
Thy name, the All-Glorious, the Most Bountiful."
Glorified art Thou, O my God! Thou knowest that in my love for Thee I have
not sought any rest, that in proclaiming Thy Cause I have denied myself
every manner of tranquillity, and that in the observance of whatever Thou
hast prescribed in Thy Tablets I have not delayed to do Thy bidding. I
have, for this reason, suffered what no man among all the inhabitants of
Thy realm hath suffered.
Thy glory beareth me witness! Nothing whatsoever can withhold me from
remembering Thee, though all the tribulations of the earth were to assault
me from every direction. All the limbs and members of my body proclaim
their readiness to be torn asunder in Thy path and for the sake of Thy
pleasure, and they yearn to be scattered in the dust before Thee. O would
that they who serve Thee could taste what I have tasted of the sweetness
of Thy love!
I implore Thee to supply whosoever hath sought Thee with the living waters
of Thy bounty, that they may rid him of all attachment to any one but
Thee. Thou art, verily, the Omniscient, the All-Glorious, the Almighty.
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! How great is Thy might and Thy
sovereignty; how vast Thy strength and Thy dominion! Thou hast called into
being Him Who speaketh in Thy name before all who are in Thy heaven and on
Thy earth, and hast bidden Him cry out amongst Thy creatures.
No sooner had a word gone forth from His lips, however, than the divines
among Thy people turned back from Him, and the learned among Thy servants
caviled at His signs. Thereby the fire of oppression was kindled in Thy
land, until the kings themselves rose up to put out Thy light, O Thou Who
art the King of kings!
Hostility waxed so intense that my kindred and my loved ones were made
captives in Thy land, and they that are dear to Thee were hindered from