BB00331: Prayer for Siyyid Husayn

O my God! Thou art He Who hath borne witness unto Thine own Self, through Thine own Self, that verily Thou art God, there is none other God but Thee—alone, without partner. Thou hast ever been when no being existed with Thee, and Thou wilt ever remain as Thou wast; naught hath been, nor shall be, in any condition or rank that can compare with Thy station. For Thy Essence is the eternal Essence, which, by its very being, hath severed the materialities from the station of true recognition; and Thy Reality is the ancient Reality, which, by its own subsistence, hath cut off the immaterial essences from the station of utterance.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! If I say, “Thou art Thou,” mine own self, and then all created things, straightway confute me, declaring that God is too exalted to be described by His creation, or to be characterized by His servants. And if I keep silence before the court of the holiness of Thy singleness, my own soul rebuketh me, saying: “God created nothing in vain, nor in idle sport.” Glorified art Thou, O my God! I behold no path, and I find no remembrance to serve as proof. Yet Thou, O my Lord, knowest my secret and mine open speech, and bearest witness unto what my hands have wrought in the presence of the court of Thy all-compelling might.

If I say, “Blessedness,” the sentence of Thy justice and Thy decree causeth me to tremble; and if I say, “Woe unto me,” the manner of Thy dealing with the sinners among Thy servants setteth my heart at rest. O Thou besides Whom there is none other God! By Thy might and Thy majesty I know that Thou art nearer unto me than all things, and that Thou art more merciful and more kind unto me than every possessor of kindness; for Thou didst create me when I was not mentioned, and didst nurture me, through Thy bounty, after Thou didst choose for me a praiseworthy course. Thy call hath ever been loving-kindness, and Thy wont hath ever been bestowal.

If Thou shouldst chastise me, it would be but of Thy mercy toward me, that Thou mightest deliver me from the burdens of mine own self and the iniquities of my secret and my open acts. And if Thou shouldst cause me to enter, through Thy mercy, among Thy righteous servants, it would be but through Thy generosity and Thy solicitude, without any cause on my part.

Wherefore, praise be to Thee, O my God, according to the right of Thy ancient lowliness in all that hath befallen me from Thee—a praise radiant, resplendent, sanctified, and purified from the praise of all others besides Thee, and singled out from the commendation of Thy servants and from whatsoever their highest sensibilities can conceive: a praise that, through Thy bounty and Thy loving-kindness, surpasseth all things, and maketh perfect Thy favor upon me in this world and in the world to come, in the utmost of Thy beneficence.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! Thou knowest my station in that land, and bearest witness unto what I purposed before the court of Thy mercy. And lo! I testify for Thine own Self that verily Thou art God, there is none other God but Thee, the Mighty, the Bestower. And I testify concerning Muhammad, Thy Beloved—may Thy blessings be upon Him and upon His Family—unto what Thou hast ordained for Him in the knowledge of the unseen that is with Thee, which none of Thy creatures can encompass: verily Thou art the Mighty, the All-Bestowing.

And I testify concerning the successors of Thy Beloved—may Thy blessings rest upon them—unto what Thou hast revealed in their regard, when Thou didst say—and Thy word is truth—“Servants honored: they speak not before Him, and they act by His command.” And I testify, O my God, for every living thing to what Thou Thyself hast testified, and for every vain thing to that which Thou lovest that creation should bear witness: Thou knowest all things, and nothing escapeth Thy knowledge, neither in the heavens nor on the earth; verily Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.

O my God! Far, far is Thy bounty from sending down upon Thy servants an affliction in this earthly life, without raising for them, thereby, a degree in the life to come. Thou knowest that when Thou didst take the souls of certain of Thy servants, by reason of the sorrow of heart of one of Thy creatures, Thou didst, therefore, send down upon him the word of patience and resignation to Thy decree; and upon those whom Thou didst take unto Thyself in the Holy Land Thou didst send down the word of mercy, and such of wondrous breaths and new bounties as none can compass in knowledge save Thee—through Thy grace and Thy bounty, O Lord of lords!

O God! Thou art the Friend of the believers and the Successor of the godly. Perfect, then, Thy favors upon us; send down upon us Thy blessings; and cause us to enter among the righteous of Thy chosen ones. Thou art independent of the ordinance of all things, and nothing in the heavens or on the earth can daunt Thee. Verily Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty.

O God! If any of Thy servants hath had his heart saddened by reason of him whom Thou hast taken unto Thyself of his kindred, I beseech Thee, by Thy grace, to send down upon him Thy mercy in every condition, and to soothe the heart that mourneth through Thy promise and Thy good-pleasure. For souls find not rest in any state save in meeting Thee, nor do they attain unto the utmost degree of contentment save through Thy bounty.

O God! Fulfil what Thou hast promised unto the believers among the people of Thine answer. Forgive me, and my parents, and all who have followed Thy ordinance, and have feared Thy justice, and have found assurance in Thy bounty. Verily Thou art God—the Generous, the Single, the One—none can fathom aught of Thy knowledge in the heavens or on the earth, and Thou art powerful over all things.

Glorified be God, the Lord of the Throne, above what they ascribe! Peace be upon the Messengers, and praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.