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hath, verily, attained that for which he had besought his Lord, the
All-Glorious, the Omniscient."
How, then, can such a man be fearful of the combination of the kings to
injure him in Thy Cause? No, no, I swear by Thyself, O Thou Who art the
King of kings! Such is my love for Thee that I can fear no one, though the
powers of all the worlds be arrayed against me. Alone and unaided I have,
by the power of Thy might, arisen to proclaim Thy Cause, unafraid of the
host of my oppressors.
To all that dwell on earth I cry aloud and say: "Fear ye God, O ye
servants of God, and suffer not yourselves to be kept back from this pure
Wine that hath flowed from the right hand of the throne of the mercy of
your Lord, the Most Merciful. I swear by God! Better for you is what He
possesseth than the things ye yourselves possess and the things ye have
sought and are now seeking in this vain and empty life. Forsake the world,
and set your faces towards the all-glorious Horizon. Whoso hath partaken
of the wine of His remembrance will forget every other remembrance, and
whoso hath recognized Him will rid himself of all attachment to this life
and to all that pertaineth unto it."
I implore Thee, O my God and my Master, by Thy word through which they who
have believed in Thy unity have soared up into the atmosphere of Thy
knowledge, and they who are devoted to Thee have ascended into the heaven
of Thy oneness, to inspire Thy loved ones with that which will assure
their hearts in Thy Cause. Endue them with such steadfastness that nothing
whatsoever will hinder them from turning towards Thee.
Thou art, verily, the Bountiful, the Munificent, the Forgiving, the
Compassionate.
Thou beholdest, O my God, how bewildered in their drunkenness are Thy
servants who have turned back from Thy beauty and caviled at what hath
been sent down from the right hand of the throne of Thy majesty. Thou
didst come, O my God, in the clouds of Thy spirit and Thine utterance, and
lo, the entire creation shook and trembled, and the limbs of them who
repudiated Thy testimonies were made to quiver, O Thou in Whose grasp is
the lordship of all things!
Thou art He, O my God, Who hast summoned all men to turn in the direction
of Thy mercy, and called them unto the horizon of Thy grace and bounties.
None, however, heeded Thy call, except such as have forsaken all things
save Thee, and hastened unto the Day-Spring of Thy beauty, and the
Dawning-Place of Thine inspiration and Thy revelation.
Thou knowest, O my God, that none can be found on the face of the earth to
remember Thee except them. Thou seest how the oppressors among Thy
creatures have laid hold on them. Some, O my God, have shed their blood in
Thy path, others have abandoned their homes and set their faces towards
the seat of Thy throne, and were hindered from stepping into the court of
Thy great glory, while still others have been cast into prison and are at
the mercy of the workers of iniquity.
I implore Thee, O Thou Who holdest in Thy hands the reins of unconstrained
power, to succor them through the wondrous potency of Thy might. Misery, O
my Lord, hath taken hold on them in Thy path, exalt them by the power of
Thy sovereignty; and weariness hath afflicted them in their love for Thee,
render them victorious, through Thy strength and Thine omnipotence, over
Thine enemies.
Aware as I am, O my God, that Thou hast decreed for them that which
excelleth whatsoever is in Thy heaven and on Thy earth, I still cherish
the desire that Thou mayest behold them in Thy days exalted and honored by
Thy creatures. Supreme art Thou over Thy creation. All are held within Thy
grasp, and lie prisoned in the hollow of Thy hand. No God is there but
Thee, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
Magnified be Thy name, O my God! I testify that if Thy servants were to
turn towards Thee with the eyes Thou didst create in them and with the
ears wherewith Thou didst endow them, they would all be carried away by a
single word sent down from the right hand of the throne of Thy majesty.
That word alone would suffice to brighten their faces, and to assure their
hearts, and to cause their souls to soar up to the atmosphere of Thy great
glory, and to ascend into the heaven of Thy sovereignty.
I pray Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of all names and the Ruler of both
earth and heaven, to grant that all who are dear to Thee may each become a
cup of Thy mercy in Thy days, that they may quicken the hearts of Thy
servants. Empower them also, O my God, to be as the rain that poureth down
from the clouds of Thy grace, and as the winds that waft the vernal
fragrances of Thy loving-kindness, that through them the soil of the
hearts of Thy creatures may be clad with verdure, and may bring forth the
things that will shed their fragrance over all Thy dominion, so that every
one may perceive the sweet smell of the Robe of Thy Revelation. Potent art
Thou to do what Thou willest.
The power of Thy might beareth me witness! Whoso hath drunk of the cup
which the hand of Thy mercy hath borne round will strip himself of all
things except Thee, and will be able, through a word of his mouth, to
enrapture the souls of such of Thy servants as have slumbered on the bed
of forgetfulness and negligence, and to cause them to turn their faces
toward Thy most Great Sign, and seek from Thee naught else except Thyself,
and ask of Thee only what Thou hast determined for them by the pen of Thy
judgment and hast prescribed in the Tablet of Thy decree.
Send down, then, O my God, through Thy Most Great Name, upon Thy loved
ones what will, under all conditions, draw them nearer unto Thee. Thou
art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, Whose help is implored by all
men.