everlasting gifts Thou dost possess.



How sweet is the thought of Thee in times of adversity and trial, and how

delightful to glorify Thee when compassed about with the fierce winds of

Thy decree! Thou knowest full well, O my God, that I endure patiently

whatsoever toucheth me in Thy path. Nay, I perceive that all the members

and limbs of my body long for tribulation, that I may manifest Thy Cause,

O Thou Who art the Lord of all names! The waters of Thy love have

preserved me in the kingdom of Thy creation, and the fire of my

remembrance of Thee hath set me ablaze before all that are in heaven and

on earth. Great is my blessedness, and great the blessedness of this fire

whose flame crieth out: No God is there save Thee, Who art the Object of

my heart's adoration, and the Source and Center of my soul!



Thy glory beareth me witness! Were all that are in the heavens and all

that are on earth to unite and seek to hinder me from remembering Thee and

from celebrating Thy praise, they would assuredly have no power over me,

and would fail in their purpose. And were the infidels to slay me, my

blood would, at Thy command, lift up its voice and proclaim: There is no

God but Thee, O Thou Who art all my heart's Desire! And were my flesh to

be boiled in the cauldron of hate, the smell which it would send forth

would rise towards Thee and cry out: Where art Thou, O Lord of the

worlds, Thou One Desire of them that have known Thee! And were I to be

cast into fire, my ashes would--I swear by Thy glory--declare: The Youth

hath, verily, attained that for which he had besought his Lord, the

All-Glorious, the Omniscient.



How, then, can such a man be fearful of the combination of the kings to

injure him in Thy Cause? No, no, I swear by Thyself, O Thou Who art the

King of kings! Such is my love for Thee that I can fear no one, though the

powers of all the worlds be arrayed against me. Alone and unaided I have,

by the power of Thy might, arisen to proclaim Thy Cause, unafraid of the

host of my oppressors.



To all that dwell on earth I cry aloud and say: Fear ye God, O ye

servants of God, and suffer not yourselves to be kept back from this pure

Wine that hath flowed from the right hand of the throne of the mercy of

your Lord, the Most Merciful. I swear by God! Better for you is what He

possesseth than the things ye yourselves possess and the things ye have

sought and are now seeking in this vain and empty life. Forsake the world,

and set your faces towards the all-glorious Horizon. Whoso hath partaken

of the wine of His remembrance will forget every other remembrance, and

whoso hath recognized Him will rid himself of all attachment to this life

and to all that pertaineth unto it.



I implore Thee, O my God and my Master, by Thy word through which they who

have believed in Thy unity have soared up into the atmosphere of Thy

knowledge, and they who are devoted to Thee have ascended into the heaven

of Thy oneness, to inspire Thy loved ones with that which will assure

their hearts in Thy Cause. Endue them with such steadfastness that nothing

whatsoever will hinder them from turning towards Thee.



Thou art, verily, the Bountiful, the Munificent, the Forgiving, the

Compassionate.