EdBergJr/Baha1 · Datasets at Hugging Face

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Thy transcendent favor and mercy.

Naked am I, O my God! Clothe me with the robe of Thy tender mercies. I am
sore athirst; give me to drink of the oceans of Thy bountiful favor. I am
a stranger; draw me nearer unto the source of Thy gifts. I am sick;
sprinkle upon me the healing waters of Thy grace. I am a captive; rid me
of my bondage, by the power of Thy might and through the force of Thy
will, that I may soar on the wings of detachment towards the loftiest
summits of Thy creation. Thou, verily, doest what Thou choosest. There is
no God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious, the Unconstrained.






Glorified art Thou, O my God! Thou knowest that my sole aim in revealing
Thy Cause hath been to reveal Thee and not my self, and to manifest Thy
glory rather than my glory. In Thy path, and to attain Thy pleasure, I
have scorned rest, joy, delight. At all times and under all conditions my
gaze hath been fixed on Thy precepts, and mine eyes bent upon the things
Thou hast bidden me observe in Thy Tablets. I have wakened every morning
to the light of Thy praise and Thy remembrance, and reached every evening
inhaling the fragrances of Thy mercy.

And when the entire creation was stirred up, and the whole earth was
convulsed, and the sweet savors of Thy name, the All-Praised, had almost
ceased to breathe over Thy realms, and the winds of Thy mercy had
well-nigh been stilled throughout Thy dominions, Thou didst, through the
power of Thy might, raise me up among Thy servants, and bid me to show
forth Thy sovereignty amidst Thy people. Thereupon I arose before all Thy
creatures, strengthened by Thy help and Thy power, and summoned all the
multitudes unto Thee, and announced unto all Thy servants Thy favors and
Thy gifts, and invited them to turn towards this Ocean, every drop of the
waters of which crieth out, proclaiming unto all that are in heaven and on
earth that He is, in truth, the Fountain of all life, and the Quickener of
the entire creation, and the Object of the adoration of all worlds, and
the Best-Beloved of every understanding heart, and the Desire of all them
that are nigh unto Thee.

Though the fierce winds of the hatred of the wicked doers blew and beat on
this Lamp, He was, at no time, in His love for Thy beauty, hindered from
shedding the fragrance of His light. As the transgressions committed
against Thee waxed greater and greater, my eagerness to reveal Thy Cause
correspondingly increased, and as the tribulations deepened--and to this
Thy glory beareth me witness--a fuller measure of Thy sovereignty and of
Thy power was vouchsafed by me unto Thy creatures.

And finally, I was cast by the transgressors into the prison-city of Akká,
and my kindred were made captives in Ba_gh_dád. The power of Thy might
beareth me witness, O my God! Every trouble that hath touched me in Thy
path hath added to my joy and increased my gladness. I swear by Thee, O
Thou Who art the King of Kings! None of the kings of the earth hath power
to hinder me from remembering Thee or from extolling Thy virtues. Were
they to be leagued--as they have been leagued--against me, and to brandish
their sharpest swords and most afflictive spears against me, I would not
hesitate to magnify Thy name before all them that are in Thy heaven and on
Thy earth. Nay rather, I would cry out and say: "This, O my Beloved, is my
face which I have offered up for Thy face, and this is my spirit which I
have sacrificed for Thy spirit, and this is my blood that seetheth in my
veins, in its longing to be shed for love of Thee and in Thy path."

Though--as Thou beholdest me, O my God--I be dwelling in a place within
whose walls no voice can be heard except the sound of the echo, though all
the gates of ease and comfort be shut against us, and thick darkness
appear to have compassed us on every side, yet my soul hath been so
inflamed by its love for Thee, that nothing whatsoever can either quench
the fire of its love or abate the consuming flame of its desire. Lifting
up its voice, it crieth aloud amidst Thy servants, and calleth them, at
all times and under all conditions, unto Thee.

I beseech Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, to open the eyes of Thy servants,
that they may behold Thee shining above the horizon of Thy majesty and
glory, and that they may not be hindered by the croaking of the raven from
hearkening to the voice of the Dove of Thy sublime oneness, nor be
prevented by the corrupt waters from partaking of the pure wine of Thy
bounty and the everlasting streams of Thy gifts.

Gather them, then, together around this Divine Law, the covenant of which
Thou hast established with all Thy Prophets and Thy Messengers, and Whose
ordinances Thou hast written down in Thy Tablets and Thy Scriptures. Raise
them up, moreover, to such heights as will enable them to perceive Thy
Call.

Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou art, verily, the
Inaccessible, the All-Glorious.






Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Thou seest me dwelling in this
prison-house that lieth behind the seas and the mountains, and knowest
full well what I have endured for love of Thee and for the sake of Thy
Cause. Thou art He, O my God, Who hath raised me up at Thy behest, and
bidden me to occupy Thy seat, and to summon all men to the court of Thy
mercy. It is Thou Who hast commanded me to tell out the things Thou didst
destine for them in the Tablet of Thy decree and didst inscribe with the
pen of Thy Revelation, and Who hast enjoined on me the duty of kindling

Thy transcendent favor and mercy.

Naked am I, O my God! Clothe me with the robe of Thy tender mercies. I am

sore athirst; give me to drink of the oceans of Thy bountiful favor. I am

a stranger; draw me nearer unto the source of Thy gifts. I am sick;

sprinkle upon me the healing waters of Thy grace. I am a captive; rid me

of my bondage, by the power of Thy might and through the force of Thy

will, that I may soar on the wings of detachment towards the loftiest

summits of Thy creation. Thou, verily, doest what Thou choosest. There is

no God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the All-Glorious, the Unconstrained.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! Thou knowest that my sole aim in revealing

Thy Cause hath been to reveal Thee and not my self, and to manifest Thy

glory rather than my glory. In Thy path, and to attain Thy pleasure, I

have scorned rest, joy, delight. At all times and under all conditions my

gaze hath been fixed on Thy precepts, and mine eyes bent upon the things

Thou hast bidden me observe in Thy Tablets. I have wakened every morning

to the light of Thy praise and Thy remembrance, and reached every evening

inhaling the fragrances of Thy mercy.

And when the entire creation was stirred up, and the whole earth was

convulsed, and the sweet savors of Thy name, the All-Praised, had almost

ceased to breathe over Thy realms, and the winds of Thy mercy had

well-nigh been stilled throughout Thy dominions, Thou didst, through the

power of Thy might, raise me up among Thy servants, and bid me to show

forth Thy sovereignty amidst Thy people. Thereupon I arose before all Thy

creatures, strengthened by Thy help and Thy power, and summoned all the

multitudes unto Thee, and announced unto all Thy servants Thy favors and

Thy gifts, and invited them to turn towards this Ocean, every drop of the

waters of which crieth out, proclaiming unto all that are in heaven and on

earth that He is, in truth, the Fountain of all life, and the Quickener of

the entire creation, and the Object of the adoration of all worlds, and

the Best-Beloved of every understanding heart, and the Desire of all them

that are nigh unto Thee.

Though the fierce winds of the hatred of the wicked doers blew and beat on

this Lamp, He was, at no time, in His love for Thy beauty, hindered from

shedding the fragrance of His light. As the transgressions committed

against Thee waxed greater and greater, my eagerness to reveal Thy Cause

correspondingly increased, and as the tribulations deepened--and to this

Thy glory beareth me witness--a fuller measure of Thy sovereignty and of

Thy power was vouchsafed by me unto Thy creatures.

And finally, I was cast by the transgressors into the prison-city of Akká,

and my kindred were made captives in Ba_gh_dád. The power of Thy might

beareth me witness, O my God! Every trouble that hath touched me in Thy

path hath added to my joy and increased my gladness. I swear by Thee, O

Thou Who art the King of Kings! None of the kings of the earth hath power

to hinder me from remembering Thee or from extolling Thy virtues. Were

they to be leagued--as they have been leagued--against me, and to brandish

their sharpest swords and most afflictive spears against me, I would not

hesitate to magnify Thy name before all them that are in Thy heaven and on

Thy earth. Nay rather, I would cry out and say: "This, O my Beloved, is my

face which I have offered up for Thy face, and this is my spirit which I

have sacrificed for Thy spirit, and this is my blood that seetheth in my

veins, in its longing to be shed for love of Thee and in Thy path."

Though--as Thou beholdest me, O my God--I be dwelling in a place within

whose walls no voice can be heard except the sound of the echo, though all

the gates of ease and comfort be shut against us, and thick darkness

appear to have compassed us on every side, yet my soul hath been so

inflamed by its love for Thee, that nothing whatsoever can either quench

the fire of its love or abate the consuming flame of its desire. Lifting

up its voice, it crieth aloud amidst Thy servants, and calleth them, at

all times and under all conditions, unto Thee.

I beseech Thee, by Thy Most Great Name, to open the eyes of Thy servants,

that they may behold Thee shining above the horizon of Thy majesty and

glory, and that they may not be hindered by the croaking of the raven from

hearkening to the voice of the Dove of Thy sublime oneness, nor be

prevented by the corrupt waters from partaking of the pure wine of Thy

bounty and the everlasting streams of Thy gifts.

Gather them, then, together around this Divine Law, the covenant of which

Thou hast established with all Thy Prophets and Thy Messengers, and Whose

ordinances Thou hast written down in Thy Tablets and Thy Scriptures. Raise

them up, moreover, to such heights as will enable them to perceive Thy

Call.

Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou art, verily, the

Inaccessible, the All-Glorious.

Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Thou seest me dwelling in this

prison-house that lieth behind the seas and the mountains, and knowest

full well what I have endured for love of Thee and for the sake of Thy

Cause. Thou art He, O my God, Who hath raised me up at Thy behest, and

bidden me to occupy Thy seat, and to summon all men to the court of Thy

mercy. It is Thou Who hast commanded me to tell out the things Thou didst

destine for them in the Tablet of Thy decree and didst inscribe with the

pen of Thy Revelation, and Who hast enjoined on me the duty of kindling