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Holy Kitab I Aqdas
Texts 1-19
Texts 20-38
Texts 39-57
Texts 58-76
Texts 77-95
Texts 96-114
Texts 115-133
Texts 134-152
Texts 153-171
Texts 172-190
Holy Kitab I Iqan
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Prayers & Meditations by Bahaullah
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
Section 13
Section 14
Section 15
Section 16
Section 17
Section 18
Section 19
Section 20
Section 21
Section 22
Section 23
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Prayers and
Meditations by Bahaullah:
Section 11 |
LXXXV
These are, O my God, the days whereon Thou didst enjoin Thy
servants to observe the fast. With it Thou didst adorn the
preamble of the Book of Thy Laws revealed unto Thy creatures,
and didst deck forth the Repositories of Thy commandments in the
sight of all who are in Thy heaven and all who are on Thy earth.
Thou hast endowed every hour of these days with a special
virtue, inscrutable to all except Thee, Whose knowledge
embraceth all created things. Thou hast, also, assigned unto
every soul a portion of this virtue in accordance with the
Tablet of Thy decree and the Scriptures of Thine irrevocable
judgment. Every leaf of these Books and Scriptures Thou hast,
moreover, allotted to each one of the peoples and kindreds of
the earth.
For Thine ardent lovers Thou hast, according to Thy decree,
reserved, at each daybreak, the cup of Thy remembrance, O Thou
Who art the Ruler of rulers! These are they who have been so
inebriated with the wine of Thy manifold wisdom that they
forsake their couches in their longing to celebrate Thy praise
and extol Thy virtues, and flee from sleep in their eagerness to
approach Thy presence and partake of Thy bounty. Their eyes
have, at all times, been bent upon the Day-Spring of Thy
loving-kindness, and their faces set towards the Fountain-Head
of Thine inspiration. Rain down, then, upon us and upon them
from the clouds of Thy mercy what beseemeth the heaven of Thy
bounteousness and grace.
Lauded be Thy name, O my God! This is the hour when Thou hast
unlocked the doors of Thy bounty before the faces of Thy
creatures, and opened wide the portals of Thy tender mercy unto
all the dwellers of Thine earth. I beseech Thee, by all them
whose blood was shed in Thy path, who, in their yearning over
Thee, rid themselves from all attachment to any of Thy
creatures, and who were so carried away by the sweet savors of
Thine inspiration that every single member of their bodies
intoned Thy praise and vibrated to Thy remembrance, not to
withhold from us the things Thou hast irrevocably ordained in
this Revelation--a Revelation the potency of which hath caused
every tree to cry out what the Burning Bush had aforetime
proclaimed unto Moses, Who conversed with Thee, a Revelation
that hath enabled every least pebble to resound again with Thy
praise, as the stones glorified Thee in the days of &Muhammad,
Thy Friend.
These are the ones, O my God, whom Thou hast graciously enabled
to have fellowship with Thee and to commune with Him Who is the
Revealer of Thyself. The winds of Thy will have scattered them
abroad until Thou didst gather them together beneath Thy shadow,
and didst cause them to enter into the precincts of Thy court.
Now that Thou hast made them to abide under the shade of the
canopy of Thy mercy, do Thou assist them to attain what must
befit so august a station. Suffer them not, O my Lord, to be
numbered with them who, though enjoying near access to Thee,
have been kept back from recognizing Thy face, and who, though
meeting with Thee, are deprived of Thy presence.
These are Thy servants, O my Lord, who have entered with Thee in
this, the Most Great Prison, who have kept the fast within its
walls according to what Thou hadst commanded them in the Tablets
of Thy decree and the Books of Thy behest. Send down, therefore,
upon them what will thoroughly purge them of all Thou abhorrest,
that they may be wholly devoted to Thee, and may detach
themselves entirely from all except Thyself.
Rain down, then, upon us, O my God, that which beseemeth Thy
grace and befitteth Thy bounty. Enable us, then, O my God, to
live in remembrance of Thee and to die in love of Thee, and
supply us with the gift of Thy presence in Thy worlds hereafter
--worlds which are inscrutable to all except Thee. Thou art our
Lord and the Lord of all worlds, and the God of all that are in
heaven and all that are on earth.
Thou beholdest, O my God, what hath befallen Thy dear ones in
Thy days. Thy glory beareth me witness! The voice of the
lamentation of Thy chosen ones hath been lifted up throughout
Thy realm. Some were ensnared by the infidels in Thy land, and
were hindered by them from having near access to Thee and from
attaining the court of Thy glory. Others were able to approach
Thee, but were kept back from beholding Thy face. Still others
were permitted, in their eagerness to look upon Thee, to enter
the precincts of Thy court, but they allowed the veils of the
imaginations of Thy creatures and the wrongs inflicted by the
oppressors among Thy people to come in between them and Thee.
This is the hour, O my Lord, which Thou hast caused to excel
every other hour, and hast related it to the choicest among Thy
creatures. I beseech Thee, O my God, by Thy Self and by them, to
ordain in the course of this year what shall exalt Thy loved
ones. Do Thou, moreover, decree within this year what will
enable the Day-Star of Thy power to shine brightly above the
horizon of Thy glory, and to illuminate, by Thy sovereign might,
the whole world.
Render Thy Cause victorious, O my Lord, and abase Thou Thine
enemies. Write down, then, for us the good of this life and of
the life to come. Thou art the Truth, Who knoweth the secret
things. No God is there but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the
All-Bountiful.
LXXXVI
Glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! I yield Thee thanks for that
Thou hast made me the target of divers tribulations and the mark
of manifold trials, in order that Thy servants may be endued
with new life and all Thy creatures may be quickened.
I swear by Thy glory, O Thou the Best Beloved of the worlds and
the Desire of all such as have recognized Thee! The one reason I
wish to live is that I may reveal Thy Cause, and I seek the
continuance of life only that I may be touched by adversity in
Thy path.
I implore Thee, O Thou by Whose summons the hearts of all them
who were nigh unto Thee have soared into the atmosphere of Thy
presence, to send down upon Thy loved ones what will enable them
to dispense with all else except Thee. Endue them, then, with
such constancy that they will arise to proclaim Thy Cause, and
will call on Thy name, before all that are in Thy heaven and on
Thy earth, in such wise that the Pharaonic cruelties inflicted
by the oppressors among Thy servants will not succeed in keeping
them back from Thee.
Thou art, verily, the God of power, the God of glory, the God of
strength and wisdom.
LXXXVII
Magnified be Thy name, O Lord my God! Behold Thou mine eye
expectant to gaze on the wonders of Thy mercy, and mine ear
longing to hearken unto Thy sweet melodies, and my heart
yearning for the living waters of Thy knowledge. Thou seest Thy
handmaiden, O my God, standing before the habitation of Thy
mercy, and calling upon Thee by Thy name which Thou hast chosen
above all other names and set up over all that are in heaven and
on earth. Send down upon her the breaths of Thy mercy, that she
may be carried away wholly from herself, and be drawn entirely
towards the seat which, resplendent with the glory of Thy face,
sheddeth afar the radiance of Thy sovereignty, and is
established as Thy throne. Potent art Thou to do what Thou
willest. No God is there beside Thee, the All-Glorious, the Most
Bountiful.
Cast not out, I entreat Thee, O my Lord, them that have sought
Thee, and turn not away such as have directed their steps
towards Thee, and deprive not of Thy grace all that love Thee.
Thou art He, O my Lord, Who hath called Himself the God of
Mercy, the Most Compassionate. Have mercy, then, upon Thy
handmaiden who hath sought Thy shelter, and set her face towards
Thee.
Thou art, verily, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.
LXXXVIII
Lauded be Thy name, O my God! I testify that no thought of Thee,
howsoever wondrous, can ever ascend into the heaven of Thy
knowledge, and no praise of Thee, no matter how transcendent,
can soar up to the atmosphere of Thy wisdom. From eternity Thou
hast been removed far above the reach and the ken of the
comprehension of Thy servants, and immeasurably exalted above
the strivings of Thy bondslaves to express Thy mystery. What
power can the shadowy creature claim to possess when face to
face with Him Who is the Uncreated?
I bear witness that the highest thoughts of all such as adore
Thy unity, and the profoundest contemplations of all them that
have recognized Thee, are but the product of what hath been
generated through the movement of the Pen of Thy behest, and
hath been begotten by Thy will. I swear by Thy glory, O Thou Who
art the Beloved of my soul and the Fountain of my life! I am
persuaded of my powerlessness to describe and extol Thee in a
manner that becometh the greatness of Thy glory and the
excellence of Thy majesty. Aware as I am of this, I beseech
Thee, by Thy mercy that hath surpassed all created things, and
Thy grace that hath embraced the entire creation, to accept from
Thy servants what they are capable of showing forth in Thy path.
Aid them, then, by Thy strengthening grace, to exalt Thy word
and to blazon Thy praise.
Powerful art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Thou, truly, art the
All-Glorious, the All-Wise.
LXXXIX
I know not, O my God, what the Fire is with which Thou didst
light the Lamp of Thy Cause, or what the Glass wherewith Thou
didst preserve it from Thine enemies. By Thy might! I marvel at
the wonders of Thy Revelation, and at the tokens of Thy glory. I
recognize, O Thou Who art my heart's Desire, that were fire to
be touched by water it would instantly be extinguished, whereas
the Fire which Thou didst kindle can never go out, though all
the seas of the earth be poured upon it. Should water at any
time touch it, the hands of Thy power would, as decreed in Thy
Tablets, transmute that water into a fuel that would feed its
flame.
I, likewise, recognize, O my God, that every lamp, when exposed
to the fury of the winds, must cease from burning. As to Thy
Lamp, however, O Beloved of the worlds, I cannot think what
power except Thy power could have kept it safe for so many years
from the tempests that have continually been directed upon it by
the rebellious among Thy creatures.
I swear by Thy glory, O my God! Thy Lamp which Thou didst light
within the tabernacle of man crieth out to Thee and saith: "O
Thou the one alone Beloved! How long wilt Thou forsake me? Lift
me up to Thee, I pray Thee. Though this wish of mine be the wish
of a human creature, yet Thou knowest that my true wish is to
sacrifice myself in Thy path. Thou art He Who hath made my
desire to be the same as Thy desire, and my will the same as Thy
will. Do Thou preserve Thy loved ones, I beseech Thee, in the
shelter of Thy shadowing mercy which transcendeth all things,
that haply the sufferings they bear may not deter them from
turning in the direction of Thy name, the All-Glorious, the Most
Bountiful."
XC
Glorified art Thou, O my God! Thou knowest that in my love for
Thee I have not sought any rest, that in proclaiming Thy Cause I
have denied myself every manner of tranquillity, and that in the
observance of whatever Thou hast prescribed in Thy Tablets I
have not delayed to do Thy bidding. I have, for this reason,
suffered what no man among all the inhabitants of Thy realm hath
suffered.
Thy glory beareth me witness! Nothing whatsoever can withhold me
from remembering Thee, though all the tribulations of the earth
were to assault me from every direction. All the limbs and
members of my body proclaim their readiness to be torn asunder
in Thy path and for the sake of Thy pleasure, and they yearn to
be scattered in the dust before Thee. O would that they who
serve Thee could taste what I have tasted of the sweetness of
Thy love!
I implore Thee to supply whosoever hath sought Thee with the
living waters of Thy bounty, that they may rid him of all
attachment to any one but Thee. Thou art, verily, the
Omniscient, the All-Glorious, the Almighty.
XCI
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! How great is Thy might and
Thy sovereignty; how vast Thy strength and Thy dominion! Thou
hast called into being Him Who speaketh in Thy name before all
who are in Thy heaven and on Thy earth, and hast bidden Him cry
out amongst Thy creatures.
No sooner had a word gone forth from His lips, however, than the
divines among Thy people turned back from Him, and the learned
among Thy servants caviled at His signs. Thereby the fire of
oppression was kindled in Thy land, until the kings themselves
rose up to put out Thy light, O Thou Who art the King of kings!
Hostility waxed so intense that my kindred and my loved ones
were made captives in Thy land, and they that are dear to Thee
were hindered from gazing on Thy beauty and from turning in the
direction of Thy mercy. This hostility failed to cause the fire
that burned within them to subside. The enemy finally carried
away as captive Him Who is the Manifestation of Thy beauty and
the Revealer of Thy signs, and confined Him in the fortress-town
of &Akka, and sought to hinder Him from remembering Thee and
from magnifying Thy name. Thy servant, however, could not be
restrained from carrying out what Thou hadst bidden Him fulfill.
Above the horizon of tribulation He hath lifted up His voice and
He crieth out, summoning all the inmates of heaven and all the
inhabitants of the earth to the immensity of Thy mercy and the
court of Thy grace. Day and night He sendeth down the signs of
Thine omnipotent power and revealeth the clear tokens of Thy
majesty, so that the souls of Thy creatures may be drawn towards
Thee, that they may forsake themselves and turn unto Thee, and
may flee from their misery and seek the tabernacle of Thy
riches, and may haste away from their wretchedness into the
court of Thy majesty and glory.
This is the Lamp which the light of Thine own Essence hath lit,
and whose radiance the winds of discord can never extinguish.
This is the Ocean that moveth by the power of Thy sovereign
might, and whose waves the influence of the infidels that have
disbelieved in the Judgment Day can never still. This is the Sun
that shineth in the heaven of Thy will and the splendor of which
the veils of the workers of iniquity and the doubts of the evil
doers can never cloud.
I yield Thee thanks, O my God, for that Thou hast offered me up
as a sacrifice in Thy path, and made me a target for the arrows
of afflictions as a token of Thy love for Thy servants, and
singled me out for all manner of tribulation for the
regeneration of Thy people.
How sweet to my taste is the savor of woes sent by Thee, and how
dear to my heart the dispositions of Thy providence! Perish the
soul that fleeth from the threats of kings in its attempt to
save itself in Thy days! I swear by Thy glory! Whoso hath
quaffed the living waters of Thy favors can fear no trouble in
Thy path, neither can he be deterred by any tribulation from
remembering Thee or from celebrating Thy praise.
I beseech Thee, O Thou Who art my Governor and the Possessor of
all names, to protect them that have branched out from me
(&Afnan), whom Thou hast caused to be related to Thyself, and to
whom Thou hast, in this Revelation, shown Thy special favor, and
whom Thou hast summoned to draw nigh unto Thee and to turn
towards the horizon of Thy Revelation. Withhold not from them, O
my Lord, the outpourings of Thy mercy or the effulgence of the
Day-Star of Thy grace. Enable them to distinguish themselves
amongst Thy people, that they may exalt Thy word and promote Thy
Cause. Aid them, O my God, to do Thy will and pleasure.
No God is there but Thee, the All-Powerful, the Most Exalted,
the Most High.
XCII
Glory to Thee, O my God! But for the tribulations which are
sustained in Thy path, how could Thy true lovers be recognized;
and were it not for the trials which are borne for love of Thee,
how could the station of such as yearn for Thee be revealed? Thy
might beareth me witness! The companions of all who adore Thee
are the tears they shed, and the comforters of such as seek Thee
are the groans they utter, and the food of them who haste to
meet Thee is the fragments of their broken hearts.
How sweet to my taste is the bitterness of death suffered in Thy
path, and how precious in my estimation are the shafts of Thine
enemies when encountered for the sake of the exaltation of Thy
word! Let me quaff in Thy Cause, O my God, whatsoever Thou didst
desire, and send down upon me in Thy love all Thou didst ordain.
By Thy glory! I wish only what Thou wishest, and cherish what
Thou cherishest. In Thee have I, at all times, placed my whole
trust and confidence.
Raise up, I implore Thee, O my God, as helpers to this
Revelation such as shall be counted worthy of Thy name and of
Thy sovereignty, that they may remember me among Thy creatures,
and hoist the ensigns of Thy victory in Thy land.
Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. No God is there but
Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. |
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