I Swear By The Beauty Of The Well-beloved!
Sources: Gleanings From The Writings Of Baha'u'llahI swear by the beauty of the Well-Beloved! This is the Mercy that hath
encompassed the entire creation, the Day whereon the grace of God hath
permeated and pervaded all things. The living waters of My mercy, O 'Ali,
are fast pouring down, and Mine heart is melting with the heat of My
tenderness and love. At no time have I been able to reconcile Myself to
the afflictions befalling My loved ones, or to any trouble that could
Every time My name "the All-Merciful" was told that one of My lovers had
breathed a word that runneth counter to My wish, it repaired,
grief-stricken and disconsolate to its abode; and whenever My name "the
Concealer" discovered that one of My followers had inflicted any shame or
humiliation on his neighbor, it, likewise, turned back chagrined and
sorrowful to its retreats of glory, and there wept and mourned with a sore
lamentation. And whenever My name "the Ever-Forgiving" perceived that any
one of My friends had committed any transgression, it cried out in its
great distress, and, overcome with anguish, fell upon the dust, and was
borne away by a company of the invisible angels to its habitation in the
realms above.
By Myself, the True One, O 'Ali! The fire that hath inflamed the heart of
Baha is fiercer than the fire that gloweth in thine heart, and His
lamentation louder than thy lamentation. Every time the sin committed by
any one amongst them was breathed in the Court of His Presence, the
Ancient Beauty would be so filled with shame as to wish He could hide the
glory of His countenance from the eyes of all men, for He hath, at all
times, fixed His gaze on their fidelity, and observed its essential
requisites.
The words thou hadst written have, as soon as they were read in My
Presence, caused the ocean of My fidelity to surge within Me, and the
breeze of My forgiveness to be wafted over thy soul, and the tree of My
loving-kindness to overshadow thee, and the clouds of My bounty to rain
down upon thee their gifts. I swear by the Day Star that shineth above the
horizon of eternity, I sorrow for thee in thy grief, and lament with thee
in thy tribulation.... I bear witness to the services thou hast rendered
Me, and testify to the various troubles thou hast sustained for My sake.
All the atoms of the earth declare My love for thee.
The call thou didst raise, O 'Ali, is highly acceptable in My sight.
Proclaim with both thy pen and tongue My Cause. Cry out and summon the
people to Him Who is the Sovereign Lord of all worlds, with such zeal and
fervor that all men may be set on fire by thee.
Say: O my Lord, my Best-Beloved, the Mover of my actions, the Lode Star of
my soul, the Voice that crieth in mine inmost being, the Object of mine
heart's adoration! Praise be to Thee for having enabled me to turn my face
towards Thee, for having set my soul ablaze through remembrance of Thee,
for having aided Me to proclaim Thy Name and to sing Thy praises.
My God, my God! If none be found to stray from Thy path, how, then, can
the ensign of Thy mercy be unfurled, or the banner of Thy bountiful favor
be hoisted? And if iniquity be not committed, what is it that can proclaim
Thee to be the Concealer of men's sins, the Ever-Forgiving, the
Omniscient, the All-Wise? May my soul be a sacrifice to the trespasses of
them that trespass against Thee, for upon such trespasses are wafted the
sweet savors of the tender mercies of Thy Name, the Compassionate, the
All-Merciful. May my life be laid down for the transgressions of such as
transgress against Thee, for through them the breath of Thy grace and the
fragrance of Thy loving-kindness are made known and diffused amongst men.
May my inmost being be offered up for the sins of them that have sinned
against Thee, for it is as a result of such sins that the Day Star of Thy
manifold favors revealeth itself above the horizon of Thy bounty, and the
clouds of Thy never-failing providence rain down their gifts upon the
realities of all created things.
I am he, O my Lord, that hath confessed to Thee the multitude of his evil
doings, that hath acknowledged what no man hath acknowledged. I have made
haste to attain unto the ocean of Thy forgiveness, and have sought shelter
beneath the shadow of Thy most gracious favor. Grant, I beseech Thee, O
Thou Who art the Everlasting King and the Sovereign Protector of all men,
that I may be enabled to manifest that which shall cause the hearts and
souls of men to soar in the limitless immensity of Thy love, and to
commune with Thy Spirit. Strengthen me through the power of Thy
sovereignty, that I may turn all created things towards the Day Spring of
Thy Manifestation and the Source of Thy Revelation. Aid me, O my Lord, to
surrender myself wholly to Thy Will, and to arise and serve Thee, for I
cherish this earthly life for no other purpose than to compass the
Tabernacle of Thy Revelation and the Seat of Thy Glory. Thou seest me, O
my God, detached from all else but Thee, and humble and subservient to Thy
Will. Deal with me as it beseemeth Thee, and as it befitteth Thy highness
and great glory.
O 'Ali! The bounty of Him Who is the Lord of all worlds hath been, and is
still being, vouchsafed unto thee. Arm thyself with His strength and
power, and arise to aid His Cause and to magnify His holy name. Let not
thine ignorance in human learning and thy inability to read or write
grieve thine heart. The doors of His manifold grace are within the mighty
grasp of the power of the one true God. He hath opened, and will continue
to open, them in the face of all them that serve Him. I fain would hope
that this breeze of Divine sweetness will, at all times, continue to be
wafted from the meadow of thine heart upon the whole world, in such wise
that its effects may be manifested in every land. He it is that hath power
over all things. He, verily, is the Most Powerful, the All-Glorious, the
Almighty.
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_We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; yet they deem Us a stirrer up of strife and sedition worthy of bondage and banishment.... That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of... Introduction
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Lauded and glorified art Thou, O Lord my God! Thou art He Who from everlasting hath been clothed with majesty, with authority and power, and will continue unto everlasting to be arrayed with honor, with strength and glory. The learned, one and all... Lauded And Glorified Art Thou, O My God! I Entreat
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Lauded be Thy name, O Lord my God! I entreat Thee by Thy Name through which the Hour hath struck, and the Resurrection came to pass, and fear and trembling seized all that are in heaven and all that are on earth, to rain down, out of the heaven of... Lauded Be Thy Name, O Lord My God! I Testify
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