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the kingdom of Thy creation, to make me to be of those who have soared in
Thine atmosphere, and surrendered their will to Thy decree.
I am all wretchedness, O my Lord, and Thou art the Most Powerful, the
Almighty. Have pity upon me by Thy grace and bountiful favor, and
graciously aid me to serve Thee and them that are dear to Thee. Potent art
Thou to do as Thou willest. No God is there but Thee, the God of strength,
of glory and wisdom.
Many a chilled heart, O my God, hath been set ablaze with the fire of Thy
Cause, and many a slumberer hath been wakened by the sweetness of Thy
voice. How many are the strangers who have sought shelter beneath the
shadow of the tree of Thy oneness, and how numerous the thirsty ones who
have panted after the fountain of Thy living waters in Thy days!
Blessed is he that hath set himself towards Thee, and hasted to attain the
Day-Spring of the lights of Thy face. Blessed is he who with all his
affections hath turned to the Dawning-Place of Thy Revelation and the
Fountain-Head of Thine inspiration. Blessed is he that hath expended in
Thy path what Thou didst bestow upon him through Thy bounty and favor.
Blessed is he who, in his sore longing after Thee, hath cast away all else
except Thyself. Blessed is he who hath enjoyed intimate communion with
Thee, and rid himself of all attachment to any one save Thee.
I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by Him Who is Thy Name, Who, through the power
of Thy sovereignty and might, hath risen above the horizon of His prison,
to ordain for every one what becometh Thee and beseemeth Thine exaltation.
Thy might, in truth, is equal to all things.
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! Thou seest me in this day shut up in my
prison, and fallen into the hands of Thine adversaries, and beholdest my
son (The Purest Branch) lying on the dust before Thy face. He is Thy
servant, O my Lord, whom Thou hast caused to be related to Him Who is the
Manifestation of Thyself and the Day-Spring of Thy Cause.
At his birth he was afflicted through his separation from Thee, according
to what had been ordained for him through Thine irrevocable decree. And
when he had quaffed the cup of reunion with Thee, he was cast into prison
for having believed in Thee and in Thy signs. He continued to serve Thy
Beauty until he entered into this Most Great Prison. Thereupon I offered
him up, O my God, as a sacrifice in Thy path. Thou well knowest what they
who love Thee have endured through this trial that hath caused the
kindreds of the earth to wail, and beyond them the Concourse on high to
lament.
I beseech Thee, O my Lord, by him and by his exile and his imprisonment,
to send down upon such as loved him what will quiet their hearts and bless
their works. Potent art Thou to do as Thou willest. No God is there but
Thee, the Almighty, the Most Powerful.
Praised be Thou, O my God! I beseech Thee by them who have circled round
the throne of Thy will, and soared in the atmosphere of Thy good-pleasure,
and turned with all their affections towards the Horizon of Thy Revelation
and the Day-Spring of Thine inspiration, and the Dawning-Place of Thy
names, to aid Thy servants to observe what Thou hast commanded them in Thy
days--commandments through which the sacredness of Thy Cause will be
demonstrated unto Thy servants and the affairs of Thy creatures and of Thy
realm will be set aright.
I testify, O my God, that this is the Day whereon Thy testimony hath been
fulfilled, and Thy clear tokens have been manifested, and Thine utterances
have been revealed, and Thy signs have been demonstrated, and the radiance
of Thy countenance hath been diffused, and Thy proof hath been perfected,
and Thine ascendancy hath been established, and Thy mercy hath overflowed,
and the Day-Star of Thy grace hath shone forth with such brilliance that
Thou didst manifest Him Who is the Revealer of Thyself and the Treasury of
Thy wisdom and the Dawning-Place of Thy majesty and power. Thou didst
establish His covenant with every one who hath been created in the
kingdoms of earth and heaven and in the realms of revelation and of
creation. Thou didst raise Him up to such heights that the wrongs
inflicted by the oppressors have been powerless to deter Him from
revealing Thy sovereignty, and the ascendancy of the wayward hath failed
to prevent Him from demonstrating Thy power and from exalting Thy Cause.
So highly didst Thou exalt Him that He openly delivered unto the kings Thy
messages and commandments, and hath never for one moment sought His own
protection, but striven to protect Thy servants from whatever might
withhold them from approaching the kingdom of Thy nearness, and from
setting their faces towards the horizon of Thy good-pleasure.
Thou seest, O my God, how, notwithstanding the swords that are drawn
against Him, He calleth the nations unto Thee, and though Himself a
prisoner summoneth them to turn in the direction of Thy gifts and
bounties. With every fresh tribulation He manifested a fuller measure of
Thy Cause, and exalted more highly Thy word.