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and who save Thyself can make fitting mention of Thee? Thou art He Who,
from eternity, abode in His realm, in the glory of His transcendent unity,
and the splendors of His holy grandeur. Were any one except Thee to be
deemed worthy of mention, in all the kingdoms of Thy creation, from the
highest realms of immortality down to the level of this nether world, how
could it, then, be demonstrated that Thou art established upon the throne
of Thy unity, and how could the wondrous virtues of Thy oneness and Thy
singleness be glorified?
I bear witness, this very moment, to what Thou hast testified for Thine
own Self, ere Thou hadst created the heavens and the earth, that Thou art
God, and that there is none other God besides Thee. Thou hast from
everlasting been potent, through the Manifestations of Thy might, to
reveal the signs of Thy power, and Thou hast ever made known, through the
Day-Springs of Thy knowledge, the words of Thy wisdom. No one besides Thee
hath ever been found worthy to be mentioned before the Tabernacle of Thy
unity, and none except Thyself hath proved himself capable of being
praised within the hallowed court of Thy oneness.
Praise be to Thee, O my God, that Thou hast revealed Thy favors and Thy
bounties; and glory be to Thee, O my Beloved, that Thou hast manifested
the Day-Star of Thy loving-kindness and Thy tender mercies. I yield Thee
such thanks as can direct the steps of the wayward towards the splendors
of the morning light of Thy guidance, and enable those who yearn towards
Thee to attain the seat of the revelation of the effulgence of Thy beauty.
I yield Thee such thanks as can cause the sick to draw nigh unto the
waters of Thy healing, and can help those who are far from Thee to
approach the living fountain of Thy presence. I yield Thee such thanks as
can divest the bodies of Thy servants of the garments of mortality and
abasement, and attire them in the robes of Thine eternity and Thy glory,
and lead the poor unto the shores of Thy holiness and all sufficient
riches. I yield Thee such thanks as can enable the Heavenly Dove to warble
forth, upon the branches of the Lote-Tree of Immortality, her song:
"Verily, Thou art God. No God is there besides Thee. From eternity Thou
hast been exalted above the praise of aught else but Thee, and been high
above the description of any one except Thyself." I yield Thee such thanks
as can cause the Nightingale of Glory to pour forth its melody in the
highest heaven: "'Al铆 (the B谩b), in truth, is Thy servant, Whom Thou hast
singled out from among Thy Messengers and Thy chosen Ones, and made Him to
be the Manifestation of Thyself in all that pertaineth unto Thee, and that
concerneth the revelation of Thine attributes and the evidences of Thy
names." I yield Thee such thanks as can stir up all things to extol Thee,
and to glorify Thine Essence, and can unloose the tongues of all beings to
magnify the sovereignty of Thy beauty. I yield Thee such thanks as can
fill the heavens and the earth with the signs of Thy transcendent Essence,
and assist all created things to enter the Tabernacle of Thy nearness and
Thy presence. I yield Thee such thanks as can make every created thing to
be a book that shall speak of Thee, and a scroll that shall unfold Thy
praise. I yield Thee such thanks as can establish the Manifestations of
Thy sovereignty upon the throne of Thy governance, and set up the
Exponents of Thy glory upon the seat of Thy Divinity. I yield Thee such
thanks as can make the corrupt tree to bring forth good fruit through the
holy breaths of Thy favors, and revive the bodies of all beings with the
gentle winds of Thy transcendent grace. I yield Thee such thanks as can
cause the signs of Thine exalted singleness to be sent down out of the
heaven of Thy holy unity. I yield Thee such thanks as can teach all things
the realities of Thy knowledge and the essence of Thy wisdom, and will not
withhold the wretched creatures from the doors of Thy mercy and Thy
bountiful favor. I yield Thee such thanks as can enable all who are in
heaven and on earth to dispense with all created things, through the
treasuries of Thine all-sufficing riches, and can aid all created things
to reach unto the summit of Thine almighty favors. I yield Thee such
thanks as can assist the hearts of Thine ardent lovers to soar into the
atmosphere of nearness to Thee, and of longing for Thee, and kindle the
Light of Lights within the land of 'Ir谩q. I yield Thee such thanks as can
detach them that are nigh unto Thee from all created things, and draw them
to the throne of Thy names and Thine attributes. I yield Thee such thanks
as can cause Thee to forgive all sins and trespasses, and to fulfill the
needs of the peoples of all religions, and to waft the fragrances of
pardon over the entire creation. I yield Thee such thanks as can enable
them that recognize Thy unity to scale the heights of Thy love, and cause
such as are devoted to Thee to ascend unto the Paradise of Thy presence. I
yield Thee such thanks as can satisfy the wants of all such as seek Thee,
and realize the aims of them that have recognized Thee. I yield Thee such
thanks as can blot out from the hearts of men all suggestions of
limitations, and inscribe the signs of Thy unity. I yield Thee such thanks
as that with which Thou didst from eternity glorify Thine own Self, and
didst exalt it above all peers, rivals, and comparisons, O Thou in Whose
hands are the heavens of grace and of bounty, and the kingdoms of glory
and of majesty!
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God, and my Master! Thou bearest witness,
and seest, and knowest the things that have befallen Thy loved ones in Thy
days, and the continual trials, and the successive tribulations, and the
incessant afflictions, which have been sent down upon Thine elect. Such
hath been their plight that the earth became too strait for them, and they
were encompassed by the evidences of Thy wrath and the signs of Thy fear
in every land, and the doors of Thy mercy and Thy loving-kindness were
shut against them, and the garden of their hearts was deprived of the
overflowing showers of Thy grace and Thy bountiful favors. Wilt Thou
withhold, O my God, from such as love Thee the wonders of Thine ascendancy
and triumph? Wilt Thou shatter, O my Beloved, the hopes which they who are
devoted to Thee have fixed on Thy manifold bounties and gifts? Wilt Thou
keep back, O my Master, those that have recognized Thee from the shores of
Thy sanctified knowledge, or wilt Thou cease to rain down upon the hearts
of such as desire Thee the showers of Thy transcendent grace? No, no, and
to this Thy glory beareth me witness! I testify this very moment that Thy
mercy hath surpassed all created things, and Thy loving-kindness
encompassed all that are in heaven and all that are on earth. From
everlasting the doors of Thy generosity were open to the faces of Thy