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that had been enshrined within the treasuries of Thy wisdom was revealed.
This is the Day, O my Lord, whereon every atom of the earth hath been made
to vibrate and to cry out: "O Thou Who art the Revealer of signs and the
King of creation! I, verily, perceive the fragrance of Thy presence.
Methinks Thou hast revealed Thyself, and unlocked the door of reunion with
Thee before all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth. I am
persuaded through the fragrance of Thy robe, O my Lord, that the world
hath been honored through Thy presence, and hath inhaled the sweet smell
of Thy meeting. I know not, however, O Thou the Beloved of the world and
the Desire of the nations, the place wherein the throne of Thy majesty
hath been established, nor the seat which hath been made Thy footstool,
and been illumined with the splendors of the light of Thy face."
I swear by Thy glory, O Thou Who art the Lord of all being and the
Possessor of all things visible and invisible! Every man of understanding
hath been so bewildered at Thy knowledge, and every man endued with
insight been so perplexed in his attempt to fathom the signs of Thy great
glory, that all have recognized their powerlessness to visualize, and
their impotence to soar into, the heaven wherefrom one of the Luminaries
of the Manifestations of Thy knowledge and of the Day-Springs of Thy
wisdom hath shone forth. Who is he that shall befittingly describe this
most sublime station and this most august seat--the seat which, as decreed
by Thee, transcendeth the comprehension of Thy creatures and the
testimonies of Thy servants, and which hath everlastingly been hid from
the understanding and the knowledge of men, and been closed with the seal
of Thy name, the Self-Subsisting.
I swear by Thy glory and Thy sovereignty which overshadow the kingdoms of
earth and of heaven! Were any of Thy chosen Ones and Thy Messengers to
meditate on the manifold evidences of Thy most exalted Pen--a Pen which is
driven by the fingers of Thy will--and were he to muse on its mysteries,
and its tokens, and all that it showeth forth, he would be so perplexed
that his tongue would fail to extol and describe Thee, and his heart would
be utterly unable to understand Thee. For he would, at one time, discover
that from this Pen there floweth out unto all created things the water
that is life indeed, and that the Pen itself hath been named by Thee the
trumpet whereby the dead speed out of their sepulchers. At another time he
would find that there proceedeth from this Pen such fire as Thine own
Revelation can kindle, and as He Who conversed with Thee (Moses) on Sinai
hath perceived.
How marvelous, then, are the manifold tokens of Thy might, and how great
are the diverse evidences of Thy power! The learned have, without
exception, admitted their ignorance when confronted with the radiance of
the Luminary of Thy knowledge; and the mighty have all confessed their
impotence in the face of the billowing Ocean of Thy power; and the rich
have one and all acknowledged their poverty before the effusions of the
Treasuries of Thy wealth; and the worldly wise have each recognized their
nothingness beside the splendors of the Light of Thy beauty; and the
exalted have all witnessed unto their abasement when face to face with the
effulgence of the Day-Star of Thy glory; and they who are in authority
have borne witness to their own evanescence and to the evanescence of
others, and discovered the eternity of Thy majesty, and of Thy
sovereignty, and of Thy sublimity, and of Thy power.
My God, and the God of all things, and my King and the King of all things,
and the Beloved of my soul, and the Goal of my desire! Thou knowest full
well that I make mention of Thee, in this day, in the name of such of Thy
creatures as have detached themselves from all except Thee, and I extol
Thy virtues through the tongue of those of Thy people that have recognized
Thy oneness, that haply there may pour out from the sighs which they utter
in their love and their yearning for Thee what will melt away all that may
hinder Thy servants from setting their faces towards the heaven of Thy
knowledge and the kingdom of Thy signs.
This, then, O my God and the God of all names, and the Creator of earth
and heaven, is the Day whereon He Whose heart gloweth with the flaming
fire of Thy presence is calling upon Thee. Where can separation from Thee
be found, O my God, so that reunion with Thee may be clearly recognized at
the appearance of the Light of Thy unity, and the revelation of the
splendors of the Sun of Thy oneness? I ask pardon of Thee, O my God, for
all that hath been said, and for whatsoever hath flowed out, and is now
flowing out from my Pen in Thy days. I testify that Thou hast decreed that
the offering of prayer should befit not me, but Him Who hath, at Thy
bidding and in conformity with Thy pleasure, preceded me. Rather hast Thou
ordained that the revelation of verses should be specially attributed unto
this mighty Manifestation, and to This Announcement that hath adorned the
Scrolls of Thy majesty and Thy Tablet in which account is kept.
I render Thee thanks, O Thou Who hast lighted Thy fire within my soul, and
cast the beams of Thy light into my heart, that Thou hast taught Thy
servants how to make mention of Thee, and revealed unto them the ways
whereby they can supplicate Thee, through Thy most holy and exalted
tongue, and Thy most august and precious speech. But for Thy leave, who is
there that could venture to express Thy might and Thy grandeur; and were
it not for Thine instruction, who is the man that could discover the ways
of Thy pleasure in the kingdom of Thy creation?
I beseech Thee, O God of bounty and King of all created things, to guard
Thy servants from the imaginations which their hearts may devise. Raise
them up, then, to such heights that their footsteps may slip not in the
face of the evidences of Thy handiwork, which the manifold exigencies of
Thy wisdom have ordained, and whose secrets Thou hast hid from the face of
Thy people and Thy creatures. Withhold them not, O my Lord, from the ocean
of Thy knowledge, neither do Thou deprive them of what Thou didst destine
for such of Thy chosen ones as have near access to Thee, and those of Thy
trusted ones as are wholly devoted to Thy Self. Supply them, then, from
Thy sea of certainty with what will calm the agitation of their hearts.
Turn, O Lord my God, the darkness of their fancies into the brightness of
certitude, and cause them to arise, and to walk steadfastly in Thy