Praised Be Thou, O My God! I Beseech Thee By

Sources: Prayers And Meditations

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 b

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.



I testify that through Him the Pen of the Most High was set in motion, and

with His remembrance the Scriptures in the kingdom of names were

embellished. Through Him Thy fragrances were wafted, and the sweet smell

of Thy raiment was shed abroad amongst all the dwellers of the earth and

the inmates of heaven. Thou seest and knowest full well, O my God, how He

hath been made to dwell within the most desolate of cities, so that He may

build up the hearts of Thy servants, and hath been willing to suffer the

most grievous abasement, that Thy creatures may be exalted.



I pray Thee, O Thou Who causest the dawn to appear, by Thy Name through

Which Thou hast subjected the winds, and sent down Thy Tablets, that Thou

wilt grant that we may draw near unto what Thou didst destine for us by

Thy favor and bounty, and to be far removed from whatsoever may be

repugnant unto Thee. Give us, then, to drink from the hands of Thy grace

every day and every moment of our lives of the waters that are life

indeed, O Thou Who art the Most Merciful! Make us, then, to be of them who

helped Thee when fallen into the hands of those Thine enemies who are

numbered with the rebellious among Thy creatures and the wicked amidst Thy

people. Write down, then, for us the recompense ordained for him that hath

attained Thy presence, and gazed on Thy beauty, and supply us with every

good thing ordained in Thy Book for such of Thy creatures as enjoy near

access to Thee.



Brighten our hearts, O my Lord, with the splendor of Thy knowledge, and

illumine our sight with the light of such eyes as are fixed upon the

horizon of Thy grace and the Day-Spring of Thy glory. Preserve us, then,

by Thy Most Great Name, Which Thou didst cause to overshadow such nations

as lay claim to what Thou hast forbidden in Thy Book. This, verily, is

what Thou didst announce unto us in Thy Scriptures and Thy Tablets.



Cause us, then, to be so steadfast in our love towards Thee that we will

turn to none except Thee, and will be reckoned amongst them that are

brought nigh to Thee, and acknowledge Thee as One Who is exalted above

every comparison and is holy beyond all likeness, and will lift up our

voices amongst Thy servants and cry aloud that He is the one God, the

Incomparable, the Ever-Abiding, the Most Powerful, the All-Glorious, the

All-Wise.



Strengthen Thou, O my Lord, the hearts of them that love Thee, that they

may not be affrighted by the hosts of the infidels that are turned back

from Thee, but may follow Thee in whatsoever hath been revealed by Thee.

Aid them, moreover, to remember and to praise Thee, and to teach Thy Cause

with eloquence and wisdom. Thou art He Who hath called Himself the Most

Merciful. Ordain, then, O my God, for me and for whosoever hath sought

Thee what beseemeth the excellence of Thy glory and the greatness of Thy

majesty. No God is there but Thee, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most

Compassionate.