BB00069: Du’a’ li’s-Sab’a

Part 1: “Glorified be He Who creates whatsoever…”

In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Glorified be He Who creates whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on earth by His command, and He is the Mighty, the Wise.

O my God! Verily Thy existence is the most exalted existence, which nothing can resemble, and verily my existence is the lowliest existence, which nothing can equal. How then can I desire to make mention of Thee when Thou hast ever been, while I have never been anything? Should I desire to make mention of Thee, the limitations of my own self frighten me, for how can nothingness make mention of the Lord of eternity? And should I remain silent before Thy countenance and not praise Thee with the praises which Thou hast taught me, I am moved by Thy dealings with the sinners and encouraged by Thy bounty toward the faithful.

Therefore, O my God, I make mention of Thee in the way Thou lovest, and I thank Thee in the way that pleaseth Thee, and I bear witness that the ultimate extent of my remembrance of Thee is my inability to remember Thee, and that the utmost of my effort in thanking Thee is my poverty in offering thanks unto Thee. I know no other way for myself, nor can I bring forth any proof thereof, save that I behold Thee through Thine own eyes and declare: Thou art, Thou art my Beloved; Thou art, Thou art my Worshipped One; Thou art, Thou art my Quest; Thou art, Thou art my Sovereign; Thou art, Thou art my King; Thou art, Thou art my Possessor; Thou art, Thou art the Ultimate Goal of my hopes.

Should I make mention of Thee through my remembrance, and my declaration “Thou art, Thou art” through the permanence of Thy Being, then by Thy might and Thy majesty, my soul shall never weary of remembering Thee, nor shall the sweetness in my heart ever be exhausted by Thy grace, even though in all my conditions my atoms proclaim that “Thou art, Thou art,” and they never rest in less than what Thy knowledge encompasseth. And if they should rest, their repose is in declaring “Thou art, Thou art.” They shall never choose aught else, nor are they capable of anything else, as though it is He, He; Thou art, Thou art, and Thou art, Thou art He, He—except that Thou art its Lord and Creator, and it is Thy servant and creation.

Nothing resembleth Thee in elevation, and it hath no likeness in lowliness. Verily Thou art the Exalted in Glory, and it is the abased in hope. Verily Thou art the Generous in bounty, and it is the supplicant in entreaty. Thou hast ever been Thou art, Thou art, and it shall ever remain it is, it is. None knoweth how it is save Thee, and none knoweth how Thou art save Thee. The word “Thou” appeareth not except through Thee, and the word of action is not complete except through it.

This hath ever been Thy way with those possessed of insight among them that profess Thy unity, and Thy gift to those possessed of understanding among them that know Thee. It is as though at every moment I witness the suns of Thy grace rising from my right hand in numbers which none save Thee can reckon—nay, they have no number in Thy knowledge—and I behold with mine own eyes the magnitude of each one of them to be greater than all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth and whatsoever lieth between them.

Therefore, O God, forgive me and let no eclipse descend upon them through my change, and pardon me and alter them not through my deeds. Make their light for me the light of Thy countenance, and their radiance for me the radiance of the lights of Thy face, and their splendor for me the splendor of the beauty of Thy glory. Glorified art Thou! Unto Thee be praise for what cannot be counted, and from me be powerlessness for what cannot be numbered, and from Thee be grace for what Thou bestowest.

Shouldst Thou make all that is within Thy knowledge a tongue within my tongue and cause it to speak in every language over which Thou hast power—and verily I would thank Thee through them all throughout the eternity of Thy Being—it would not equal the payment of the right of even one of Thy favors. Glorified art Thou! How can one whose measure is such powerlessness and whose station is such poverty be capable of thanking Thee when he is but a thing brought forth through Him?

Verily Thou art more glorious than the mention of aught else, and more exalted than giving thanks to any besides Thee. By Thy might! Were it not for reciting a verse from Thy Book, I would not have ventured to thank Thee. Yet because of what Thou hast promised to those who give thanks unto Thee, my soul was encouraged thereby to barter my goods of nothingness for thanksgiving unto Thee, O Ancient of Days! Glory be unto Thee! Glory be unto Thee! No trade can equal my trade among all that are in the heavens and the earth. This was naught but through Thy grace, for what am I—whose utmost attainment is utter evanescence and whose very existence is pure nothingness—yet when Thou didst cause me to know that Thou art Who Thou art, I attained unto all good through saying “Thou art Who Thou art.”

Nothing remained in Thy treasuries that I did not gather into my treasuries. Nay rather, I possessed all that Thou Thyself possessed through my thanksgiving unto Thee and my remembrance of Thee, for how couldst Thou withhold from him whom Thou thankest anything from Thy treasuries, when Thy thanks are higher and more glorious than all things, and Thy praise is greater and more ancient than all things? Nay, by Thy might! Thou hast withheld no good thing from me except that Thou hast honored me with Thy remembrance of me, which is all good. This is a matter without equal, a bounty without likeness, a being without similitude, and a gift which no other gift in Thy knowledge can match.

Unto Thee be thanks with my whole being, though this is but the recompense for Thy thanking Thy servant. Unto Thee be praise with my whole being, though this is but the recompense for Thy praising Thy servant. Unto Thee be glory with my whole being, though this is but the recompense for Thy glorifying Thy servant. Unto Thee be remembrance with my whole being, though this is but the recompense for Thy remembering me. Unto Thee be all knowledge, though this is but the knowledge with which Thou hast favored me. My whole being is for Thee in love, though this is but Thy love for me. In all wherewith Thou hast honored me, I proclaim this. Therefore bear witness unto this for me, hear this from me, exalt this for me, record this for me, treasure this for me, and conceal this from the eyes of all else, for by Thy might!

I love not that any should know of my love for Thee. This is not from any measure of miserliness before Thee, but rather I love this and strive for this lest any but I should know my Beloved, or any save myself take delight in the mention of my Goal, or any besides me be refreshed by gazing upon the countenance of my King, or any except myself alone find solace in the presence of my Sovereign.

Glory be unto Thee! If I say none hath loved Thee as I have loved Thee, by Thy might I speak true, and if Thou sayest none hath loved Me as Thou hast loved Me, I would believe Thee, O Beloved! For Thy love for me is my love for Thee, as I was nothing until through Thy love I became a lover, and had Thou not created me, Thy love would not have been manifest, for how could Thy love be shown if there were no other existence? Yea, Thy love in Thy Self is Thy Self—none in the heavens or earth knoweth it. But the love of Thine that is possible for others, and to which creation can relate, is my love for Thee which is identical to Thy love for me.

Glory be unto Thee! How sweet are such words as these, how exalted their like, how glorious their similitude, how just their comparison! That I attribute them to Thee is through Thy grace upon them, like the relation of the Kaaba to Thee. Otherwise, glory be unto Thee! That I should forget the limitations of my being or be heedless of the station of my essence—nay, by Thy might! Thy primordial, camphorated Being hath severed all existences from loving It through It, and Thy eternal, pure Essence hath separated the realities of the abstract entities among contingent beings.

Glorified and exalted art Thou! Ever hath Thy remembrance of Thyself transcended not Thine Essence, and Thy love is Thine Own Being, proceeding not from other than Thy Self. That which those who remember call to mind is but the remembrance of Thy creation, and that which those who know recognize is but the love of Thy invention, which Thou didst bring into being from naught through their own selves. These two bear witness to utter and absolute powerlessness, and to pure and complete poverty in the essence of being and attributes.

Glorified art Thou! How wondrous is Thy handiwork! At times Thou dost shower upon my heart the suns of grace as though they would never set, and at times Thou dost rend my very being and seize me with might, as though the suns of grace would never rise upon me. Glorified art Thou! I see no straight path in Thy handiwork, nor any clear way in Thy Cause. How can one who is inspired to say “Thou art Thou” be tormented to say “I am I”?

Glorified, glorified art Thou! Were it not for my fear of distant hearts and weak souls, I would cry out in this my station before Thee for what Thou hast done unto me. My cry is not for what people have done to me, for by Thy glory they are to me but as a passing shadow, nay, all my crying out is from Thy deed. If Thou hadst not ordained it, who could have acted? If Thou hadst not decreed it, who could have done aught?

Nay, by Thy glory, my cry is not for the conditions of this world or the next, rather my cry is because of how decree hath passed that I should say “I am I” after Thou didst cause me to know that “Thou art Thou.” This is the utmost of my torment, O my Beloved! Otherwise what have I to do with the terrors of this world and the next? It hath never occurred to my heart whether they exist or not. Rather, I see them as non-existent as before their existence, through Thine eye that slumbereth not, and I have forgotten them through Thy power that cannot be assailed.

Indeed, all my fear is because after Thou didst cause me to know Thyself, that “Thou art Thou,” I said “I am I.” And I know that Thou hast not asked me why I said this, nor dost Thou call me to account for it, yet I am ashamed of my deed and tormented by the fire of my words. How could I not be tormented by my remembrance of myself when Thou didst remember it through Thy remembrance of it, and Thou hast ever been, while it hath never been anything?

Glorified art Thou! Thou art Thou, until the spirit departeth from me and my breath returneth not to myself. Were it not that Thou hadst imposed upon me the commands of this world, I would not have chosen aught but saying “Thou art Thou” until death overtaketh me, and I would have been as nothing. But now I have no recourse except to seek Thy forgiveness and turn unto Thee in repentance until death overtaketh me, saying: “Would that I had been dust!”

Glorified, glorified art Thou! Thou didst not impose upon me the commands of this world except because of my remoteness from Thy nearness. Otherwise, what have I to do with being independent of Thee, taking pleasure in aught but Thee, finding intimacy with any save Thee, or finding rest in other than Thy Self alone? There is no God but Thee. I seek Thy forgiveness for all that and turn unto Thee in repentance. Then upon Thee do I rely and unto Thee do I turn. And I bear witness that whenever I have stood, I have desired naught but Thy countenance and Thy face. And I know that when the servant is in the state of descent or ascent, or when something entereth into him or proceedeth from him, he is not worthy to be Thine alone—there is no God but Thee—for Thou art the Eternal, and Thou lovest not for one who loveth Thee to be aught but a sign of Thy Self. I bear Thee witness that whatsoever hath proceeded from my self of the manifestations of dominion and the modes of justice are, in my sight, rejected as my very self, and are cut off from the court of Thy nearness by reason of their remoteness and their indication of aught beside Thyself.

Part 2: “Thou verily knowest that whenever I dwelt…”

Thou verily knowest that whenever I dwelt in contemplation of conjunction or separation, I was not Thy servant, but rather I was servant to that with which I was conjoined, and I loved what I made separate from it. For among those who disbelieved are they who worship the sun instead of Him, and I made my sun the remembrance of conjunction. And among those who associated partners are they who worship the moon instead of Him, and I made my moon the station of separation. Glory be unto Thee! Glory be unto Thee! I see no difference between myself and them before Thee. Nay, by Thy might, I witness my punishment to be greater and more severe than theirs, for the more subtle the matter, the more refined the fire of Thy justice.

Alas! Alas for what I have borne before Thee! By Thy might, I acknowledge my grievous sins and confess my great transgressions, knowing that he who seeks union with Thee, were his aim to unite with his own self, would be consumed by the fire of Thy union more severely than one who burns in the fire of limitations and bodies. And he who would unify Thee, were he to desire the tranquility of his essence by not associating his being with Thee, would likewise, as with the first, find his fire more intense and his torment greater. Yea, the path is that which Thou hast made known to all, and the proof is that which Thou hast taught all: that Thou art Thou, there is none besides Thee, and that the first mention of other than Thee is the first punishment of the one who mentions before Thee, and no fire in Thy knowledge nor torment in Thy power can compare to it.

Glory be unto Thee! Glory be unto Thee! Write for me by Thy grace, as Thou art Thou, without mention of the existence of otherness before Thee, and without the possibility of mentioning the impoverished in Thy presence. For when I return to the station of the camphor of my being and the rank of my essential purity, I love none but Thee, and I desire from love none but Thee, and I behold in Thee none but Thee. If I love love for the sake of reaching Thee, then by Thy might I am among the polytheists, and if I seek unity for knowing Thee, then by Thy might I am among those who are far removed. I loved not that, nor do I love it, and if my hands acquired and my soul bore such deeds, by Thy might it was not the deed of my essence nor did my being love it. Rather, that was a sin that proceeded from me, and my soul enticed me, and Thou didst extend the decree for the execution of this judgment to multiply my punishment and intensify my fires. Nay, through this I flee from it and return to Thee, escape from it and arrive before Thee.

By Thy might—and Thou art witness over me and aware of me—I desired from the mention of my sin nothing but to say “Thou art Thou,” for just as that distinction emerged from myself, likewise what entered upon me through its like—all that is rejected and all that is limited. Thou art more glorious than all that and greater than to be mentioned by that. All my remembrance of Thee is all Thy punishment for me, and all Thy remembrance of me is Thy good-pleasure in myself. By Thy might, cut off from me the remembrance of other than Thee such that the remembrance of myself does not occur to me, and I become as the day when I was nothing.

Remember me as Thou willest, how Thou willest, where Thou willest, when Thou willest, and where Thou willest. Nay, I seek Thy forgiveness for what I asked of Thee, for the mention of other than Thee is a creation that has found existence for itself by itself, and it is the greatest fire in Thy knowledge. Nay, I know nothing but Thy Essence, and none but Thee can enable Thy remembrance, for when the mention of otherness exists, conjunction exists, and Thou art exalted above that. Thou hast ever been Thou, and there was nothing beside Thee, and Thou shalt ever be, and there shall be nothing—that most exalted pavilion.

Nearness and the ultimate station of intimacy is where there is no mention of others and no existence of self, such that there would need to be association or the servant’s need for expression. Glory be unto Thee and exalted art Thou above any likeness to this—nay, there is no likeness to it nor to this. Before my existence I was pure nothingness, and Thou wert as Thou hast ever been, pure Life.

Glory be unto Thee and exalted art Thou! I beseech Thee as Thou art Thou, and I seek intercession through Thee as Thou art Thou, and I flee unto Thee as Thou art Thou, and I take flight unto Thee as Thou art Thou, and I am in awe of Thee as Thou art Thou, and I seek refuge in Thy presence as Thou art Thou, and I seek protection in Thy care as Thou art Thou.

Alas, alas for how I have sought Thee! Alas, alas for how I have beseeched Thee! Alas, alas for how I have known Thee! Alas, alas for how I have unified Thee! Alas, alas for how I have worshipped Thee! Alas, alas for how I have answered Thee! Alas, alas for how I have feared Thee! For there have arisen against me a thousand of my own selves. I am ashamed before Thee and witness all the torment that lieth within Thy knowledge thereof. By Thy glory! It is as though I see in my words “Thou art Thou” one whose body is transformed in fire. Nay, by Thy glory, my fire is greater than his and my torment more severe, for he burneth his body with the fire of his limitations while I burn my heart with the fire of Thine infinitude.

Glory be unto Thee! Glorified art Thou! How can I say “Thou art Thou,” and how can I apologize for saying “Thou art Thou”? For in both stations I am tormented by Thy fire and am in severe affliction by Thy decree.

Alas, alas for him who is pure nothingness before Thee yet saith in Thy presence “I am”! By Thy glory, he deserveth punishment for this, and were Thou to make me a judge over myself, I would surely torment it with all that Thou art able to decree as recompense for its mention when it grew proud beyond its bounds and recognized not its own nonexistence.

What right hath absolute nothingness to turn toward Thy pure Living Self? By Thy glory, had I a perceptive spirit, I would have burst asunder before mentioning Thee more quickly than an egg would crack upon a rock or glass would shatter from the heaviest iron.

Glory be unto Thee, glory be unto Thee! My likeness is as the likeness of the people of the fire, with no difference between me and them except that they are tormented by the fire of limitations and flee from the punishment of the limited, while I am consumed in a torment that hath no beginning and no end, in a fire whose burning hath no extinction, whose sighing no cessation, whose essence no ashes, and whose heat no diminishment.

Alas, alas, O my God! To whom shall I flee? Have regard for me! If Thou dost not deliver me, who is able to deliver me? If Thou dost not have mercy upon me, who is able to show me mercy?

Glory be unto Thee and exalted art Thou! I know not how to speak, for by my words my fire is doubled, and I know not how to keep silent, for the severity of the torment hath caused me to protest against One like Thee, the Almighty Sovereign of the heavens and earth, and the All-Compelling King of the kingdoms of Command and Creation, by my mention of Thee and by saying “Thou art the Lord of the heavens and the earth.”

By Thy glory! I have found none as shameless as myself before Thee, and I have known none as rebellious as myself in Thy presence, for one who acknowledgeth his own nonexistence and then turneth back and saith “Thou art Thou” is like one purely mad and utterly confounded, who knoweth not what he saith nor is affected by what he doeth and what shall become of him.

Glory be unto Thee, glory be unto Thee! I acknowledge what Thou lovest and confess what pleaseth Thee. I have no refuge save in this, no path except this, no escape but this, and no salvation apart from this.

Glorified art Thou, O my Beloved! I see some who are wise and others who are bereft of understanding, for I behold some who neglect Thy remembrance, take their delight in aught save Thee, and people this world albeit they know it shall pass away. Some worship Thee for that which Thou bestowest upon them; some beseech Thee for the fulfillment of their desires and needs. Some have forsaken the world and detached themselves from its delights, yet have abandoned Thy good-pleasure in the hereafter. Some obey Thee out of fear, some worship Thee out of love, some profess Thy unity because Thy oneness is more glorious than all else, and some remember Thee because Thy remembrance is sweeter than all else. Yet when I look deeply into their souls and unveil the reality of their deeds, I see them as polytheists before Thee, remote from Thy presence. For even the greatest among them is he who loves Thy remembrance because it is sweeter than all else, that he might possess something incomparable—yet in truth he desires only to worship himself and fulfill his own portion, making Thy remembrance a means for his need and Thy Being a resting place for his motion.

Glory be unto Thee! Glory be unto Thee! Should one seek other than One like Thee? Glory be unto Thee! How far have people strayed, asking One like Thee for the sake of their own selves, forgetting the greatness of Thy Being, and beseeching Thee for their needs though they know that all else besides Thee is as nothingness before Thee. The servant’s petition to Thee should be because he sees Thee as greater than himself and his request; yet after this he forgets that greatness and asks Thee for that which perishes in numbered days or endures in the infinite world—both alike are nothingness before Thee. Glory be unto Thee! Glory be unto Thee! By Thy might, I am bewildered in Thy Cause, knowing not by what path I should remember Thee or by what proof I should remain silent before Thy countenance, save to cast myself before Thee and say what Thou hast taught me:

“I commit my cause unto God, verily God is watchful over His servants.”

O God! Letters have descended upon this mountain from those whom Thou knowest better than I. Grant then, O God, to each of these seven what they desire in Thy path. Verily Thou art the Generous, the All-Bestowing. Glory be to Thy Lord, the Lord of Glory, above what they describe. And peace be upon the Messengers, and praise be to God, the Lord of the worlds.