/> the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, to make of my prayer a fire that will

burn away the veils which have shut me out from Thy beauty, and a light

that will lead me unto the ocean of Thy Presence.





Let him then raise his hands in supplication toward God--blessed

and exalted be He--and say:





O Thou the Desire of the world and the Beloved of the nations! Thou seest

me turning toward Thee, and rid of all attachment to anyone save Thee, and

clinging to Thy cord, through whose movement the whole creation hath been

stirred up. I am Thy servant, O my Lord, and the son of Thy servant.

Behold me standing ready to do Thy will and Thy desire, and wishing naught

else except Thy good pleasure. I implore Thee by the Ocean of Thy mercy

and the Day-Star of Thy grace to do with Thy servant as Thou willest and

pleasest. By Thy might which is far above all mention and praise!

Whatsoever is revealed by Thee is the desire of my heart and the beloved

of my soul. O God, my God! Look not upon my hopes and my doings, nay

rather look upon Thy will that hath encompassed the heavens and the earth.

By Thy Most Great Name, O Thou Lord of all nations! I have desired only

what Thou didst desire, and love only what Thou dost love.





Let him then kneel, and bowing his forehead to the ground, let him

say:





Exalted art Thou above the description of anyone save Thyself, and the

comprehension of aught else except Thee.





Let him then stand and say:





Make my prayer, O my Lord, a fountain of living waters whereby I may live

as long as Thy sovereignty endureth, and may make mention of Thee in every

world of Thy worlds.





Let him again raise his hands in supplication, and say:





O Thou in separation from Whom hearts and souls have melted, and by the

fire of Whose love the whole world hath been set aflame! I implore Thee by

Thy Name through which Thou hast subdued the whole creation, not to

withhold from me that which is with Thee, O Thou Who rulest over all men!

Thou seest, O my Lord, this stranger hastening to his most exalted home

beneath the canopy of Thy majesty and within the precincts of Thy mercy;

and this transgressor seeking the ocean of Thy forgiveness; and this lowly

one the court of Thy glory; and this poor creature the orient of Thy

wealth. Thine is the authority to command whatsoever Thou willest. I bear

witness that Thou art to be praised in Thy doings, and to be obeyed in Thy

behests, and to remain unconstrained in Thy bidding.





Let him then raise his hands, and repeat three times the Greatest

Name. Let him then bend down with hands resting on the knees

before God--blessed and exalted be He--and say:





Thou seest, O my God, how my spirit hath been stirred up within my limbs

and members, in its longing to worship Thee, and in its yearning to

remember Thee and extol Thee; how it testifieth to that whereunto the

Tongue of Thy Commandment hath testified in the kingdom of Thine utterance

and the heaven of Thy knowledge. I love, in this state, O my Lord, to beg

of Thee all that is with Thee, that I may demonstrate my poverty, and

magnify Thy bounty and Thy riches, and may declare my powerlessness, and

manifest Thy power and Thy might.





Let him then stand and raise his hands twice in supplication, and

say:





There is no God but Thee, the Almighty, the All-Bountiful.



There is no God but Thee, the Ordainer, both in the beginning and in the

end. O God, my God! Thy forgiveness hath emboldened me, and Thy mercy hath

strengthened me, and Thy call hath awakened me, and Thy grace hath raised

me up and led me unto Thee. Who, otherwise, am I that I should dare to

stand at the gate of the city of Thy nearness, or set my face toward the

lights that are shining from the heaven of Thy will? Thou seest, O my

Lord, this wretched creature knocking at the door of Thy grace, and this

evanescent soul seeking the river of everlasting life from the hands of

Thy bounty. Thine is the command at all times, O Thou Who art the Lord of

all names; and mine is resignation and willing submission to Thy will, O

Creator of the heavens!





Let him then raise his hands thrice, and say:





Greater is God than every great one!





Let him then kneel and, bowing his forehead to the ground, say:





Too high art Thou for the praise of those who are nigh unto Thee to ascend

unto the heaven of Thy nearness, or for the birds of the hearts of them

who are devoted to Thee to attain to the door of Thy gate. I testify that

Thou hast been sanctified above all attributes and holy above all names.

No God is there but Thee, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious.





Let him then seat himself and say:





I testify unto that whereunto have testified all created things, and the

Concourse on high, and the inmates of the all-highest Paradise, and beyond

them the Tongue of Grandeur itself from the all-glorious Horizon, that

Thou art God, that there is no God but Thee, and that He Who hath been

manifested is the Hidden Mystery, the Treasured Symbol, through Whom the

letters B and E (Be) have been joined and knit together. I testify that it

is He Whose name hath been set down by the Pen of the Most High, and Who

hath been mentioned in the Books of God, the Lord of the Throne on high

and of earth below.





Let him then stand erect and say:





O Lord of all being and Possessor of all things visible and invisible!

Thou dost perceive my tears and the sighs I utter, and hearest my

groaning, and my wailing, and the lamentation of my heart. By Thy might!

My trespasses have kept me back from drawing nigh unto Thee; and my sins

have held me far from the court of Thy holiness. Thy love, O my Lord, hath

enriched me, and separation from Thee hath destroyed me, and remoteness

from Thee hath consumed me. I entreat Thee by Thy footsteps in this

wilderness, and by the words Here am I. Here am I. which Thy chosen Ones

have uttered in this immensity, and by the breaths of Thy Revelation, and

the gentle winds of the Dawn of Thy Manifestation, to ordain that I may

gaze on Thy beauty and observe whatsoever is in Thy Book.





Let him then repeat the Greatest Name thrice, and bend down with

hands resting on the knees, and say:





Praise be to Thee, O my God, that Thou hast aided me to remember Thee and

to praise Thee, and hast made known unto me Him Who is the Day-Spring of

Thy signs, and hast caused me to bow down before Thy Lordship, and humble

myself before Thy Godhead, and to acknowledge that which hath been uttered

by the Tongue of Thy grandeur.





Let him then rise and say:





O God, my God! My back is bowed by the burden of my sins, and my

heedlessness hath destroyed me. Whenever I ponder my evil doings and Thy

benevolence, my heart melteth within me, and my blood boileth in my veins.

By Thy Beauty, O Thou the Desire of the world! I blush to lift up my face

to Thee, and my longing hands are ashamed to stretch forth toward the

heaven of Thy bounty. Thou seest, O my God, how my tears prevent me from

remembering Thee and from extolling Thy virtues, O Thou the Lord of the

Throne on high and of earth below! I implore Thee by the signs of Thy

Kingdom and the mysteries of Thy Dominion to do with Thy loved ones as

becometh Thy bounty, O Lord of all being, and is worthy of Thy grace, O

King of the seen and the unseen!





Let him then repeat the Greatest Name thrice, and kneel with his

forehead to the ground, and say:





Praise be unto Thee, O our God, that Thou hast sent down unto us that

which draweth us nigh unto Thee, and supplieth us with every good thing

sent down by Thee in Thy Books and Thy Scriptures. Protect us, we beseech

Thee, O my Lord, from the hosts of idle fancies and vain imaginations.

Thou, in truth, art the Mighty, the All-Knowing.





Let him then raise his head, and seat himself, and say:





I testify, O my God, to that whereunto Thy chosen Ones have testified, and

acknowledge that which the inmates of the all-highest Paradise and those

who have circled round Thy mighty Throne have acknowledged. The kingdoms

of earth and heaven are Thine, O Lord of the worlds!



_Long obligatory prayer, to be recited once in twenty-four hours._