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brightness of the light of Thy providence. |
They that are shut out as by a veil from Thee have imagined that they have |
the power to put out Thy light, and to quench Thy fire, and to still the |
winds of Thy grace. Nay, and to this Thy might beareth me witness! Had not |
every tribulation been made the bearer of Thy wisdom, and every ordeal the |
vehicle of Thy providence, no one would have dared oppose us, though the |
powers of earth and heaven were to be leagued against us. Were I to |
unravel the wondrous mysteries of Thy wisdom which are laid bare before |
me, the reins of Thine enemies would be cleft asunder. |
Glorified be Thou, then, O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Most Great Name |
to assemble them that love Thee around the Law that streameth from the |
good-pleasure of Thy will, and to send down upon them what will assure |
their hearts. |
Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou art, verily, the Help in |
Peril, the Self-Subsisting. |
Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! This is Thy servant who hath quaffed from |
the hands of Thy grace the wine of Thy tender mercy, and tasted of the |
savor of Thy love in Thy days. I beseech Thee, by the embodiments of Thy |
names whom no grief can hinder from rejoicing in Thy love or from gazing |
on Thy face, and whom all the hosts of the heedless are powerless to cause |
to turn aside from the path of Thy pleasure, to supply him with the good |
things Thou dost possess, and to raise him up to such heights that he will |
regard the world even as a shadow that vanisheth swifter than the |
twinkling of an eye. |
Keep him safe also, O my God, by the power of Thine immeasurable majesty, |
from all that Thou abhorrest. Thou art, verily, his Lord and the Lord of |
all worlds. |
Lauded be Thy name, O my God! Thou beholdest how the tempestuous winds of |
tests have caused the steadfast in faith to tremble, and how the breath of |
trials hath stirred up those whose hearts had been firmly established, |
except such as have partaken of the Wine that is life indeed from the |
hands of the Manifestation of Thy name, the Most Merciful. These are the |
ones whom no word except Thy most exalted word can move, whom nothing |
whatever save the sweet smelling fragrance of the robe of Thy remembrance |
can enrapture, O Thou Who art the Possessor of all names and the Maker of |
earth and heaven! |
I implore Thee, O Thou Who art the beloved Companion of Bah谩, by Thy name, |
the All-Glorious, to keep safe these Thy servants under the shadow of the |
wings of Thine all-encompassing mercy, that the darts of the evil |
suggestions of the wicked doers among Thy creatures, who have disbelieved |
in Thy signs, may be kept back from them. No one on earth, O my Lord, can |
withstand Thy power, and none in all the kingdom of Thy names is able to |
frustrate Thy purpose. Show forth, then, the power of Thy sovereignty and |
of Thy dominion, and teach Thy loved ones what beseemeth them in Thy days. |
Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, the |
Most Great. |
All praise be to Thee, O my God! Thou beholdest my helplessness and |
poverty, and bearest witness unto my woes and trials. How long wilt Thou |
abandon me among Thy servants? Suffer me to ascend into Thy presence. The |
power of Thy might beareth me witness! Such are the tribulations with |
which I am encompassed that I am powerless to recount them before Thy |
face. Thou, alone, verily, hast through Thy knowledge reckoned them. |
I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art my Companion in my lowliness, to rain down |
upon Thy loved ones from the clouds of Thy mercy that which will cause |
them to be satisfied with Thy pleasure, and will enable them to turn unto |
Thee and to be detached from all else except Thee. Ordain, then, for them |
every good conceived by Thee and predestined in Thy Book. Thou art, |
verily, the All-Powerful, He Whom nothing whatsoever can frustrate. From |
everlasting Thou hast been clothed with transcendent greatness and power, |
with unspeakable majesty and glory. There is no God beside Thee, the |
Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Ever-Forgiving. |
Glorified be Thy name, Thou in Whose hand are the kingdoms of earth and |
heaven. |