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to the light of Thy praise and Thy remembrance, and reached every evening
inhaling the fragrances of Thy mercy.
And when the entire creation was stirred up, and the whole earth was
convulsed, and the sweet savors of Thy name, the All-Praised, had almost
ceased to breathe over Thy realms, and the winds of Thy mercy had
well-nigh been stilled throughout Thy dominions, Thou didst, through the
power of Thy might, raise me up among Thy servants, and bid me to show
forth Thy sovereignty amidst Thy people. Thereupon I arose before all Thy
creatures, strengthened by Thy help and Thy power, and summoned all the
multitudes unto Thee, and announced unto all Thy servants Thy favors and
Thy gifts, and invited them to turn towards this Ocean, every drop of the
waters of which crieth out, proclaiming unto all that are in heaven and on
earth that He is, in truth, the Fountain of all life, and the Quickener of
the entire creation, and the Object of the adoration of all worlds, and
the Best-Beloved of every understanding heart, and the Desire of all them
that are nigh unto Thee.
Though the fierce winds of the hatred of the wicked doers blew and beat on
this Lamp, He was, at no time, in His love for Thy beauty, hindered from
shedding the fragrance of His light. As the transgressions committed
against Thee waxed greater and greater, my eagerness to reveal Thy Cause
correspondingly increased, and as the tribulations deepened--and to this
Thy glory beareth me witness--a fuller measure of Thy sovereignty and of
Thy power was vouchsafed by me unto Thy creatures.
And finally, I was cast by the transgressors into the prison-city of Akká,
and my kindred were made captives in Ba_gh_dád. The power of Thy might
beareth me witness, O my God! Every trouble that hath touched me in Thy
path hath added to my joy and increased my gladness. I swear by Thee, O
Thou Who art the King of Kings! None of the kings of the earth hath power
to hinder me from remembering Thee or from extolling Thy virtues. Were
they to be leagued--as they have been leagued--against me, and to brandish
their sharpest swords and most afflictive spears against me, I would not
hesitate to magnify Thy name before all them that are in Thy heaven and on
Thy earth. Nay rather, I would cry out and say: "This, O my Beloved, is my
face which I have offered up for Thy face, and this is my spirit which I
have sacrificed for Thy spirit, and this is my blood that seetheth in my
veins, in its longing to be shed for love of Thee and in Thy path."
Though--as Thou beholdest me, O my God--I be dwelling in a place within
whose walls no voice can be heard except the sound of the echo, though all
the gates of ease and comfort be shut against us, and thick darkness
appear to have compassed us on every side, yet my soul hath been so
inflamed by its love for Thee, that nothing whatsoever can either quench
the fire of its love or abate the consuming flame of its desire. Lifting
up its voice, it crieth aloud amidst Thy servants, and calleth them, at
all times and under all conditions, unto Thee.
I beseech Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, to open the eyes of Thy servants,
that they may behold Thee shining above the horizon of Thy majesty and
glory, and that they may not be hindered by the croaking of the raven from
hearkening to the voice of the Dove of Thy sublime oneness, nor be
prevented by the corrupt waters from partaking of the pure wine of Thy
bounty and the everlasting streams of Thy gifts.
Gather them, then, together around this Divine Law, the covenant of which
Thou hast established with all Thy Prophets and Thy Messengers, and Whose
ordinances Thou hast written down in Thy Tablets and Thy Scriptures. Raise
them up, moreover, to such heights as will enable them to perceive Thy
Call.
Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou art, verily, the
Inaccessible, the All-Glorious.
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Thou seest me dwelling in this
prison-house that lieth behind the seas and the mountains, and knowest
full well what I have endured for love of Thee and for the sake of Thy
Cause. Thou art He, O my God, Who hath raised me up at Thy behest, and
bidden me to occupy Thy seat, and to summon all men to the court of Thy
mercy. It is Thou Who hast commanded me to tell out the things Thou didst
destine for them in the Tablet of Thy decree and didst inscribe with the
pen of Thy Revelation, and Who hast enjoined on me the duty of kindling
the fire of Thy love in the hearts of Thy servants, and of drawing all the
peoples of the earth nearer to the habitation of Thy throne.
And when, as bidden by Thee, I arose and called out, by Thy leave, all Thy
creatures, the wayward among Thy servants opposed me. Some turned away
from me, others disowned my claim, a few hesitated, while others were sore
perplexed, notwithstanding that Thy testimony was set forth before the
followers of all religions, and Thy proof demonstrated unto all the
peoples of the earth, and the signs of Thy might so powerfully manifested
as to encompass the entire creation.
I was, moreover, opposed by mine own kindred, although, as Thou knowest,
they were dear to me and I had desired for them that which I had desired
for mine own self. These are the ones who, when learning that I had been
cast into prison, perpetrated against me what no man else on earth had
perpetrated.
I entreat Thee, therefore, O my God, by Thy name by which Thou hast
separated between truth and denial, to purify their hearts of all evil
suggestions, and to enable them to draw nigh unto Him Who is the
Day-Spring of Thy names and Thine attributes.
Thou knowest, O my God, that I have severed every tie that bindeth me to
any of Thy creatures except that most exalted tie that uniteth me with
whosoever cleaveth unto Thee, in this the day of the revelation of Thy
most august Self, that hath appeared in Thy name, the All-Glorious. Thou
knowest that I have dissolved every bond that knitteth me to any one of my