Selections From the Writings of the Bab Part 21

I am aware, O Lord, that my trespa.s.ses have covered my face with shame in Thy presence, and have burdened my back before Thee, have intervened between me and Thy beauteous countenance, have compa.s.sed me from every direction and have hindered me on all sides from gaining access unto the revelations of Thy celestial power.

O Lord! If Thou forgivest me not, who is there then to grant pardon, and if Thou hast no mercy upon me who is capable of showing compa.s.sion? Glory be unto Thee, Thou didst create me when I was non-existent and Thou didst nourish me while I was devoid of any understanding. Praise be unto Thee, every evidence of bounty proceedeth from Thee and every token of grace emanateth from the treasuries of Thy decree.

"I Beg Thee to forgive me, O my Lord, for every mention ..."

I Beg Thee to forgive me, O my Lord, for every mention but the mention of Thee, and for every praise but the praise of Thee, and for every delight but delight in Thy nearness, and for every pleasure but the pleasure of communion with Thee, and for every joy but the joy of Thy love and of Thy good-pleasure, and for all things pertaining unto me which bear no relations.h.i.+p unto Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of lords, He Who provideth the means and unlocketh the doors.

"How can I praise Thee, O Lord, for the evidences of Thy ..."

How can I praise Thee, O Lord, for the evidences of Thy mighty splendour and for Thy wondrous sweet savours which Thou hast imparted to Me in this fortress, in such measure that nothing in the heavens or on the earth can compare with them? Thou hast watched over Me in the heart of this mountain where I am compa.s.sed by mountains on all sides. One hangeth above Me, others stand on My right and My left and yet another riseth in front of Me. Glory be unto Thee, no G.o.d is there but Thee. How often have I seen rocks from the mountain hurtling down upon Me, and Thou didst protect Me therefrom and preserved Me within the stronghold of Thy divine Unity.

Glorified and exalted art Thou, and praise be unto Thee for whatsoever Thou lovest and desirest, and thanks be unto Thee for that which Thou hast decreed and preordained. From time immemorial Thy tender mercy hath been sent down and the process of Thy creation hath been and ever is ceaseless.

Thy handiwork is unlike the work of anyone besides Thee, and Thy goodly gifts are unparalleled by the gifts of anyone other than Thyself.

Praise be unto Thee, O My Beloved, and magnified be Thy Name. Ever since the hour I set foot upon this fortress till the moment I shall have departed therefrom, I behold Thee established upon Thy seat of glory and majesty, sending down upon Me the manifold tokens of Thy bountiful favour and grace. Thou beholdest that My dwelling place is but the heart of the mountains, and Thou discernest naught in My Person except the evidences of abas.e.m.e.nt and loneliness.

Lauded be Thy Name; I render Thee thanks for every instance of Thine inscrutable Decree and offer My praise for every token of Thy tribulations. Having suffered Me to be cast into the prison, Thou didst turn it into a garden of Paradise for Me and caused it to become a chamber of the court of everlasting fellows.h.i.+p.

How numerous the verses Thou didst send down unto Me, and the prayers Thou didst hear Me offer unto Thee. How diverse the revelations which Thou didst call into being through Me and the experiences Thou didst witness in Me.

Magnified be Thy Name. Manifold trials have been powerless to deter Me from yielding thanks unto Thee and My shortcomings have failed to keep Me back from extolling Thy virtues. The infidels had purposed to turn My abode into one of disgrace and humiliation. But Thou hast glorified Me through My remembrance of Thee, hast exalted Me through My praise of Thee, hast graciously aided Me through the revelations of Thy oneness, and hast conferred upon Me a great honour through the effulgent splendours of Thine ancient eternity. To the fire Thou dost command, 'Be thou a soothing balm unto My Servant', and to the prison, 'Be thou a seat of tender compa.s.sion to My Servant, as a token from My presence'. Yea, I swear by Thy glory; to Me the prison hath proved to be naught but the most delightful garden of Paradise and hath served as the n.o.blest spot in the realm above.

Praised and glorified art Thou. How often did adversities descend upon Me and Thou didst temper them and avert them through Thy gracious favour; and how many times were commotions stirred up against Me at the hand of the people, while Thou didst cause them to subside through Thy tender mercy.

How numerous the occasions when the Nimrods kindled fires wherewith to burn Me, but Thou didst make them balm for Me; and how manifold the instances when the infidels decreed My humiliation and Thou didst turn them into marks of honour for Me...

Verily Thou art the highest aspiration of every earnest seeker and the Goal of the desire of them that yearn after Thee. Thou art He Who is ready to answer the call of such as recognize Thy divine unity, and He before Whom the faint-hearted stand in awe. Thou art the Helper of the needy, the Deliverer of the captives, the Abaser of the oppressors, the Destroyer of the wrong-doers, the G.o.d of all men, the Lord of all created things. Thine are the kingdoms of Creation and Revelation, O Thou Who art the Lord of all the worlds.

O All-Sufficient One! Thou dost suffice Me in every hards.h.i.+p that may descend upon Me and in every affliction that may wax great before Me. Thou art My sole Companion in My loneliness, the Delight of My heart in My solitude and My Best Beloved in My prison and in My Abode. No G.o.d is there but Thee!

Whomsoever Thou dost suffice shall not be put to grief; whomsoever Thou dost protect shall never perish; whomsoever Thou dost help shall never be abased; and he unto whom Thou turnest Thy gaze shall never be far removed from Thee.

Write down for us then whatsoever is of Thee, and forgive us for what we are. Verily Thou art the Lord of power and glory, the Lord of all the worlds. 'Far be the glory of Thy Lord, the Lord of all greatness, from what they impute to Him, and peace be upon His Apostles, and praise be unto G.o.d, the Lord of all the worlds.'(78)

"Glory be to Thee, O G.o.d! Thou art the G.o.d Who hath ..."

Glory be to Thee, O G.o.d! Thou art the G.o.d Who hath existed before all things, Who will exist after all things and will last beyond all things.

Thou art the G.o.d Who knoweth all things, and is supreme over all things.

Thou art the G.o.d Who dealeth mercifully with all things, Who judgeth between all things and Whose vision embraceth all things. Thou art G.o.d my Lord, Thou art aware of my position, Thou dost witness my inner and outer being.

Grant Thy forgiveness unto me and unto the believers who responded to Thy Call. Be Thou my sufficing helper against the mischief of whosoever may desire to inflict sorrow upon me or wish me ill. Verily Thou art the Lord of all created things. Thou dost suffice everyone, while no one can be self-sufficient without Thee.

"I Implore Thee by the splendour of the light of Thy ..."

I Implore Thee by the splendour of the light of Thy glorious face, the majesty of Thine ancient grandeur and the power of Thy transcendent sovereignty to ordain for us at this moment every measure of that which is good and seemly and to destine for us every portion of the outpourings of Thy grace. For granting of gifts doth not cause Thee loss, nor doth the bestowing of favours diminish Thy wealth.

Glorified art Thou, O Lord! Verily I am poor while in truth Thou art rich; verily I am lowly while in truth Thou art mighty; verily I am impotent while in truth Thou art powerful; verily I am abased while in truth Thou art the most exalted; verily I am distressed while in truth Thou art the Lord of might.

"Do Thou ordain for me, O Lord, every good thing Thou ..."

Do Thou ordain for me, O Lord, every good thing Thou hast created or wilt create, and s.h.i.+eld me from whatever evil Thou abhorrest from among the things Thou hast caused or wilt cause to exist. In truth Thy knowledge embraceth all things. Praised be Thou, verily no G.o.d is there but Thee, and nothing whatsoever in the heavens or on the earth and all that is between them can ever thwart Thy Purpose. Indeed potent art Thou over all things.

Far be it from the sublimity of Thy Being, O my G.o.d, that anyone seek Thy loving-kindness or favour. Far be it from Thy transcendent glory that anyone entreat Thee for the evidences of Thy bestowals and tender mercy.

Too high art Thou for any soul to beseech the revelation of Thy gracious providence and loving care, and too sanctified is Thy glory for anyone to beg of Thee the outpourings of Thy blessings and of Thy heavenly bounty and grace. Throughout Thy kingdom of heaven and earth, which is endowed with manifold bounties, Thou art immeasurably glorified above aught whereunto any ident.i.ty could be ascribed.

All that I beg of Thee, O my G.o.d, is to enable me, ere my soul departeth from my body, to attain Thy good-pleasure, even were it granted to me for a moment tinier than the infinitesimal fraction of a mustard seed. For if it departeth while Thou art pleased with me, then I shall be free from every concern or anxiety; but if it abandoneth me while Thou art displeased with me, then, even had I wrought every good deed, none would be of any avail, and had I earned every honour and glory, none would serve to exalt me.

I earnestly beseech Thee then, O my G.o.d, to graciously bestow Thy good-pleasure upon me when Thou dost cause me to ascend unto Thee and make me appear before Thy holy presence, inasmuch as Thou hast, from everlasting, been the G.o.d of immense bounty unto the people of Thy realm, and the Lord of most excellent gifts to all that dwell in the exalted heaven of Thine omnipotence.

"How numerous the souls raised to life who were exposed ..."

How numerous the souls raised to life who were exposed to dire humiliation in Thy Path for exalting Thy Word and for glorifying Thy divine Unity! How profuse the blood that hath been shed for the sake of Thy Faith to vindicate the authenticity of Thy divine Mission and to celebrate Thy praise! How vast the possessions that were wrongfully seized in the Path of Thy love in order to affirm the loftiness of Thy sanct.i.ty and to extol Thy glorious Name! How many the feet that have trodden upon the dust in order to magnify Thy holy Word and to extol Thy glory! How innumerable the voices that were raised in lamentation, the hearts that were struck with terror, the grievous woes that none other than Thee can reckon, and the adversities and afflictions that remain inscrutable to anyone except Thyself; all this to establish, O my G.o.d, the loftiness of Thy sanct.i.ty and to demonstrate the transcendent character of Thy glory.

These decrees were ordained by Thee so that all created things might bear witness that they have been brought into being for the sake of naught else but Thee. Thou hast withheld from them the things that bring tranquillity to their hearts, that they might know of a certainty that whatever is a.s.sociated with Thy holy Being is far superior to and exalted above aught else that would satisfy them; inasmuch as Thine indomitable power pervadeth all things, and nothing can ever frustrate it.

Indeed Thou hast caused these momentous happenings to come to pa.s.s that those who are endued with perception may readily recognize that they were ordained by Thee to demonstrate the loftiness of Thy divine Unity and to affirm the exaltation of Thy sanct.i.ty.

"Glory be unto Thee, O Lord! Although Thou mayest ..."

Glory be unto Thee, O Lord! Although Thou mayest cause a person to be dest.i.tute of all earthly possessions, and from the beginning of his life until his ascension unto Thee he may be reduced to poverty through the operation of Thy decree, yet wert Thou to have brought him forth from the Tree of Thy love, such a bounty would indeed be far better for him than all the things Thou hast created in heaven and earth and whatsoever lieth between them; inasmuch as he will inherit the heavenly home, through the revelation of Thy favours, and will partake of the goodly gifts Thou hast provided therein; for the things which are with Thee are inexhaustible.