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