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hast taught me, how immeasurably greater must be the excellence of the
station of the One Who hath known Thee, Who hath entered Thy Presence, and
pursued steadfastly the path of Thy Cause!
I have clearly perceived, and I am wholly persuaded, that Thou hast from
everlasting been immeasurably exalted above the mention of all beings, and
wilt continue unto everlasting to remain far above the conception of Thy
creatures. None can befittingly praise Thee except Thine own Self and such
as are like unto Thee. Thou hast, verily, been at all times, and wilt
everlastingly continue to remain, immensely exalted beyond and above all
comparison and likeness, above all imagination of parity or resemblance.
Having, thus, recognized Thee as One Who is incomparable, and Whose nature
none can possess, it becometh incontrovertibly evident that whosoever may
praise Thee, his praise can befit only such as are of his own nature, and
are subject to his own limitations, and it can in no wise adequately
describe the sublimity of Thy sovereignty, nor scale the heights of Thy
majesty and holiness. How sweet, therefore, is the praise Thou givest to
Thine own Self, and the description Thou givest of Thine own Being!
I testify, O my God, that Thou hast, from eternity, sent down upon Thy
servants naught else except that which can cause them to soar up and be
drawn near unto Thee, and to ascend into the heaven of Thy transcendent
oneness. Thou hast established Thy bounds among them, and ordained them to
stand among Thy creatures as evidences of Thy justice and as signs of Thy
mercy, and to be the stronghold of Thy protection amongst Thy people, that
no man may in Thy realm transgress against his neighbor. How great is the
blessedness of him who, for love of Thy beauty and for the sake of Thy
pleasure, hath curbed the desires of a corrupt inclination and observed
the precepts laid down by Thy most exalted Pen! He, in truth, is to be
numbered with them that have attained unto all good, and followed the way
of guidance.
I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by Thy Name through which Thou hast enabled Thy
servants and Thy people to know Thee, through which Thou hast drawn the
hearts of those who have recognized Thee towards the resplendent court of
Thy oneness, and the souls of Thy favored ones unto the Day-Spring of Thy
unity,--I beseech Thee to grant that I may be assisted to observe the fast
wholly for Thy sake, O Thou Who art full of majesty and glory! Empower me,
then, O my God, to be reckoned among them that have clung to Thy laws and
precepts for the sake of Thee alone, their eyes fixed on Thy face. These,
indeed, are they whose wine is all that hath proceeded out of the mouth of
Thy primal will, whose pure beverage is Thine enthralling call, whose
heavenly River is Thy love, whose Paradise is entrance into Thy presence
and reunion with Thee. For Thou hast been their Beginning and their End,
and their Highest Hope, and their Supreme Desire. Blinded be the eye that
gazeth on whatsoever may displease Thee, and confounded be the soul that
seeketh the things that are contrary to Thy will.
Deign, O my God, I implore Thee, by Thy Self and by them, to accept,
through Thy grace and Thy loving-kindness, the works we have performed,
however much they fall short of the loftiness of Thy state and the
sublimity of Thy station, O Thou Who art most dear to the hearts that long
for Thee, and the Healer of the souls that have recognized Thee! Rain
down, therefore, upon us from the heaven of Thy mercy and the clouds of
Thy gracious providence that which will cleanse us from the faintest trace
of evil and corrupt desires, and will draw us nearer unto Him Who is the
Manifestation of Thy most exalted and all-glorious Self. Thou art, verily,
the Lord of this world and of the next, and art powerful to do all things.
Do Thou bless, O Lord my God, the Primal Point, through Whom the point of
creation hath been made to revolve in both the visible and invisible
worlds, Whom Thou hast designated as the One whereunto should return
whatsoever must return unto Thee, and as the Revealer of whatsoever may be
manifested by Thee. Do Thou also bless such of His Letters as have not
turned away from Thee, who have been firmly established in Thy love, and
clung steadfastly to Thy good-pleasure. Bless Thou, likewise, as long as
Thine own Self endureth and Thine own Essence doth last, them that have
suffered martyrdom in Thy path. Thou art, verily, the Ever-Forgiving, the
Most Merciful.
Moreover, I beseech Thee, O my God, by Him Whom Thou hast announced unto
us in all Thy Tablets and Thy Books and Thy Scrolls and Thy Scriptures,
through Whom the kingdom of names hath been convulsed, and all that lay
hid in the breasts of them that have followed their evil and corrupt
desires hath been revealed,--I beseech Thee to strengthen us in our love
for Him, to make us steadfast in His Cause, to help us befriend His loved
ones and challenge His enemies. Shield us, then, O my God, from the
mischief wrought by them that have denied Thy presence, and turned away
from Thy face, and resolved to put an end to the life of Him Who is the
Manifestation of Thine own Self.
O my God and my Master! Thou knowest how they have disgraced Thy Cause and
dishonored Thee among Thy creatures, how they have joined Thine enemies,
that they may undermine Thy Revelation and injure Thee. Lay hold on them
with the power of Thy wrath and might, O my God, and expose their shameful
acts and their wickedness, that whatever is hid in their breasts may be
revealed unto the people that dwell within Thy land, O Thou Who art the
Inflictor of trials, the Fashioner of nations, and the Bestower of favors!
No God is there beside Thee, the All-Glorious, the Most Bountiful.
Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! The tongues of all created things testify
to Thy sovereignty and Thine omnipotence, and proclaim mine own poverty
and my wretchedness when face to face with the revelations of Thy wealth.
Look, then, O my God, upon this sinner whose gaze hath, at all times, been
fixed upon the source of Thy forgiveness, and whose eyes have been bent
upon the horizon of Thy grace and Thy gifts.
Ever since the day Thou didst create me at Thy bidding, O my God, and
didst arouse me through the gentle winds of Thy tender mercies, I have
refused to turn to any one except Thee, and have, through the power of Thy