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And when Thou didst purpose to demonstrate the power of Thy sovereign
might, and to glorify Thy word, and to guide the steps of Thy people, Thou
didst raise up from among Thy creatures One of Thy servants, Whom Thou
didst send forth with the signs of Thy sovereignty, and Whom Thou didst
endue with the clear tokens of Thy oneness, that He might fulfill Thy
testimony unto all created things, and perfect Thy proof before all men.
As soon as He revealed Himself, as bidden by Thee, and called Thy servants
to turn in the direction of Thy gifts, and to set their faces towards the
horizon of Thy knowledge, the signs of dissension appeared amongst them.
Some responded to Thy call and, without the least hesitation, obeyed Thy
summons. Others turned their backs to Thee, and followed the desires of a
corrupt inclination.
I implore Thee, O my God, by Thy Most Great Name, to enrapture the nations
through the potency of the Word which Thou didst ordain to be the king of
all words, the Word whereby the goodly pearls of Thy hidden wisdom were
uncovered, and the gem-like mysteries which were wrapped up within Thee
were unraveled. Deprive them not, by Thy grace and bounty, of the things
Thou didst desire for them, and suffer them not to be far removed from the
shores of the ocean of Thy presence.
Every existence, whether seen or unseen, O my Lord, testifieth that Thy
mercy hath surpassed all created things, and Thy loving-kindness embraced
the entire creation. Look upon them, I entreat Thee, with the eyes of Thy
mercy. Thou art the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate. Do with them
as beseemeth Thy glory, and Thy majesty, and Thy greatness, and Thy
bounteousness and Thy grace. Deal not with them according to the
limitations imposed upon them, or the manifold vicissitudes of their
earthly life.
Thou knowest, O my Lord, that I am but one of Thy servants. I have tasted
of the sweetness of Thy speech, and acknowledged Thy unity and Thy
singleness, and set my face towards the Source of Thy most excellent names
and the Day-Spring of Thy transcendent attributes, and wished to be
enabled by Thee to immerse myself beneath the ocean of Thy oneness and to
be submerged by the mighty waters of Thy unity.
Assist me, by Thy strengthening grace, O my Lord, to do what Thou didst
will, and withhold not from me the things Thou dost possess. So enravish
me with the wonders of Thine utterances that the noise and distraction of
this world may be powerless to deter me from turning unto Thee, and may
fail to shake my constancy in Thy Cause, or to distract my gaze from the
horizon of Thy grace. Aid me, then, O my God, to do what pleaseth Thee,
and to carry out Thy will. Write down for me, moreover, the good of this
world and of the world which is to come, and ordain for me a seat of truth
in Thy presence. Potent art Thou to do what Thou willest, and to rule as
Thou pleasest. No God is there but Thee, the Inaccessible, the
All-Glorious, the Most Great.
All-praise to Thee, O Lord of the worlds and the Object of the adoration
of the entire creation!
Faded now is all that erstwhile flourished in the Paradise of Thy
transcendent oneness, O my God! Where are the rain-giving clouds of Thy
mercy? Shorn are the branches of the Tree of Thy unity of the vesture of
Thy majesty and wisdom; where is the spring-time of Thy gifts and
bounties? Motionless lies the Ark of Thy Cause on the sea of Thy creation;
where are the winds of Thy grace and favors? Encompassed on every side is
Thy Lamp by the tempests of discord blowing from every land; where is the
globe of Thy graciousness and protection?
Thou seest, O my God, how the eyes of these poor creatures are bent upon
the horizon of Thy riches, how the hearts of these helpless ones are set
in the direction of Thy might. I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art the sole
Desire of them that have recognized Thee, and the Object of the adoration
of the entire creation, not to suffer them, now that Thou hast attracted
them by Thy most exalted Word, to be far removed from the Tabernacle which
Thou hast reared up by Thy name, the All-Glorious.
They are sore pressed with cares, O my Lord, and are encompassed about by
the wicked. Send down, therefore, from the heaven of Thy behest Thine
invisible hosts, that, holding aloft the ensigns of Thy victory, they may
help them in Thy land, and may shield them against Thine adversaries.
I entreat Thee, O my God, by Thy name through which the clouds have rained
down their rain, and the streams have flowed, and the fire of Thy love
hath been kindled throughout Thy dominion, to assist Thy servant who hath
turned towards Thee, and hath spoken forth Thy praise, and determined to
help Thee. Fortify, then, his heart, O my God, in Thy love and in Thy
Faith. Better is this for him than all that hath been created on Thine
earth, for the world and whatsoever is therein must perish, and what
pertaineth unto Thee must endure as long as Thy most excellent names
endure. By Thy Glory! Were the world to last as long as Thine own kingdom
will last, to set their affections upon it would still be unseemly for
such as have quaffed, from the hands of Thy mercy, the wine of Thy
presence; how much more when they recognize its fleetingness and are
persuaded of its transience. The chances that overtake it, and the changes
to which all things pertaining unto it are continually subjected, attest
its impermanence.
Whosoever hath recognized Thee will turn to none save Thee, and will seek
from Thee naught else except Thyself. Thou art the sole Desire of the
heart of him whose thoughts are fixed on Thee, and the highest Aspiration
of whosoever is wholly devoted unto Thee.
No God is there beside Thee, the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the
All-Glorious, the Most Powerful.