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Powerful art Thou to do what Thou pleasest and to ordain what Thou
willest. No God is there but Thee, the All-Possessing, the All-Highest,
the Almighty, the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
O Thou Whose remembrance is the delight of the souls of all them that
yearn after Thee, Whose name is the exultation of the hearts of all who
are wholly devoted to Thy will, Whose praise is cherished by such as have
drawn nigh unto Thy court, Whose face is the ardent desire of all them
that have recognized Thy truth, Whose trial is the healer of the
sicknesses of them who have embraced Thy Cause, Whose calamity is the
highest aspiration of such as are rid of all attachment to any one but
Thyself!
Glorified, immeasurably glorified art Thou, in Whose hands is the empire
of whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on earth, Thou, Who
through but one word of Thy mouth, caused all things to expire and
dissolve asunder, and Who, by yet another word, caused whatever had been
separated to be combined and reunited! Magnified be Thy name, O Thou Who
hast power over all that are in the heavens and all that are on earth,
Whose dominion embraceth whatsoever is in the heaven of Thy Revelation and
the kingdom of Thy creation. None can equal Thee in Thy created realms;
none can compare with Thee in the universe Thou hast fashioned. The mind
of no one hath comprehended Thee, and the aspiration of no soul hath
reached Thee. I swear by Thy might! Were any one to soar, on whatever
wings, as long as Thine own Being endureth, throughout the immensity of
Thy knowledge, he would still be powerless to transgress the bounds which
the contingent world hath set for him. How can, then, such a man aspire to
wing his flight into the atmosphere of Thy most exalted presence?
He, indeed, is endued with understanding who acknowledgeth his
powerlessness and confesseth his sinfulness, for should any created thing
lay claim to any existence, when confronted with the infinite wonders of
Thy Revelation, so blasphemous a pretension would be more heinous than any
other crime in all the domains of Thine invention and creation. Who is
there, O my Lord, that, when Thou revealest the first glimmerings of the
signs of Thy transcendent sovereignty and might, hath the power to claim
for himself any existence whatever? Existence itself is as nothing when
brought face to face with the mighty and manifold wonders of Thine
incomparable Self.
Far, immeasurably far, art Thou exalted above all things, O Thou Who art
the King of Kings! I entreat Thee by Thy Self and by Them Who are the
Manifestations of Thy Cause and the Day-Springs of Thine authority to
write down for us that which Thou hast written down for Thy chosen ones.
Withhold not from us that which Thou didst ordain for Thy loved ones, who,
as soon as Thy call reached them, hastened unto Thee, and when the
splendors of the light of Thy countenance were shed upon them, instantly
prostrated themselves in adoration before Thy face.
We are Thy servants, O my Lord, and in the grasp of Thy power. If Thou
chastisest us with the chastisement inflicted upon the former and the
latter generations, Thy verdict would be assuredly just and Thine act
praiseworthy. Powerful art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. None other God
is there beside Thee, the Almighty, the All-Glorious, the Help in Peril,
the Self-Subsisting.
Unto Thee be praise, O Thou Who inclinest Thine ear to the sighing of them
that have rid themselves of all attachment to any one but Thee, and Who
hearest the voice of the lamentation of those who are wholly devoted to
Thy Self! Thou beholdest all that hath befallen them at the hands of such
of Thy creatures as have transgressed and rebelled against Thee. Thy might
beareth me witness, O Thou Who art the King of the realms of justice and
the Ruler of the cities of mercy! The tribulations they have been made to
suffer are such as no pen, in the entire creation, can reckon. Should any
one attempt to make mention of them, he would find himself powerless to
describe them.
As these tribulations, however, were sustained in Thy path and for love of
Thee, they who were afflicted by them render thanks, under all conditions,
unto Thee, and say: "O Thou Who art the Delight of our hearts and the
Object of our adoration! Were the clouds of Thy decree to rain down upon
us the darts of affliction, we would, in our love for Thee, refuse to be
impatient. We would yield Thee praise and thanksgiving, for we have
recognized and are persuaded that Thou hast ordained only that which will
be best for us. If our bodies be, at times, weighed down by our troubles,
yet our souls rejoice with exceeding gladness. We swear by Thy might, O
Thou Who art the Desire of our hearts and the Exultation of our souls!
Every trouble that toucheth us in our love for Thee is an evidence of Thy
tender mercy, every fiery ordeal a sign of the brightness of Thy light,
every woeful tribulation a cooling draught, every toil a blissful repose,
every anguish a fountain of gladness."
Whosoever, O my Lord, is impatient in the tribulations befalling him in
Thy path, hath not drunk of the cup of Thy love nor tasted of the
sweetness of Thy remembrance. I implore Thee, by Him Who is the King of
all names and their Sovereign, Who is the Revealer of all attributes and
their Creator, and by them who have soared aloft and drawn nigh unto Thee
and winged their flight into the atmosphere of Thy presence, and have
endured the galling of chains for Thy sake, to grant that all Thy people
may be graciously aided to recognize Him Who is the Manifestation of Thine