BB00130: Munajat li-Hadrat va man ma’ahu

In the Name of God, the Most Unapproachable, the Most Holy

Glorified art Thou, O my God! Verily Thou hast ever been the One God, Single, Eternal, Self-Subsistent, the Ever-Living, the Self-Sustaining, the Everlasting, the Ever-Enduring. Thou hast taken unto Thyself neither consort nor son. There hath been no equal unto Thee, no peer, no likeness, no companion, and no similitude. Should I desire to make mention of Thee through any thing, that mention would be ashamed before Thee to describe Thee thereby. Should I extol Thee through the sublimity of Thy praise, or sanctify Thee through the transcendence of Thy sanctification, or glorify Thee through the exaltation of Thy oneness, or magnify Thee through the inviolability of Thy glorification, or exalt Thee through the independence of Thy exaltation—all these are but manifestations which Thou hast revealed unto me through Thy appearances in my soul and Thy revelations in my being. Therefore do I testify, and all things testify, that Thy very Essence hath severed all created things from knowing Thee, and Thy very Self hath prevented all beings from praising Thee.

Glorified art Thou! Were this the loftiest flight that the most exalted of possibilities could attain, and the most resplendent ascent that the highest realms could achieve—how then could I mention Thee through that which my heart comprehendeth before Thee, or sanctify Thee through that which my being witnesseth before Thine eyes? Glorified and exalted art Thou! Thou hast ever been God when there was none to be worshipped, and Thou hast ever been Lord when there was no subject, and Thou hast ever been Creator when there was no creation, and Thou hast ever been All-Knowing when there was none to be known, and Thou hast ever been All-Powerful when there was none to be empowered. Thou hast ever been the Sovereign Unapproachable, the King Transcendent, the Monarch Most High when there was no subject.

Thou art the Exalted One Who cannot be known through exaltation, and Thou art the Most High Who cannot be described through transcendence. Thou art He Who hath ever been and will ever be, existing before all things, and Thou wilt ever remain, enduring after all things. Thy Being bringeth all things into existence through Thy power, and Thy Creation determineth all that can be named a thing through Thy might. Thou art He Who hath upheld the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them through the sovereignty of Thy unique Power, and Thou art He Who hath originated all things through the authority of Thy holy Self-Sufficiency.

Thou canst never be known through aught else but Thyself, for all else is known through Thee. No praise can ever ascend to Thee from anything, for all praise is created by Thy command. Thou hast manifested the true Greatness above all that is great, and the true Glory above all that is glorious, and the true Majesty above all that is majestic, and the true Beauty above all that is beautiful. Thou hast shown forth the true Grandeur above all that is elevated, and the true Might above all that is unattainable, and the true Sovereignty and Independence above all that is independent, and the true Dominion above all that hath dominion, and the true Power above all that is powerful, and the true Supremacy above all that is supreme, and the true Magnificence above all that is magnificent, and the true Triumph above all that is triumphant.

Thy attributes can never resemble the attributes of Thy creatures, and Thy names can never be confused with the names of Thy creation. For Thou hast ever been All-Knowing, and the knowledge of all else before Thee is as nothing, and if mentioned, it is created by Thy knowledge. And the power of all else before Thee is pure impotence, and if mentioned, it is created by Thy power. Thou art He Whose names no names can resemble, Whose manifestations no manifestations can match, and Whose hiddenness no hiddenness can equal—all through their very essence.

They love Thy divine Unity and detach themselves unto the Sovereign of Thy sanctification, turning not to other than the King of Thy glorification, and standing before the Sovereign of Thy exaltation. Thou art He Whom no thing hath known as beseemeth Thy knowledge, nor can know Thee. Thou art He Whom no thing hath glorified as beseemeth Thy glorification, nor can glorify Thee. Thou art He Whom no thing hath sanctified as beseemeth Thy sanctification, nor can sanctify Thee. Thou art He Whom no thing can unify as beseemeth Thy unity, nor can unify Thee. Thou art He Whom no thing can magnify as beseemeth Thy magnitude, nor can magnify Thee. Though this reacheth not unto Thy Essence but rather unto the sign of Thy Self, the Point of the Bayan from Thee. Though all may unify Thee, yet they unify Thee not as beseemeth Thy unity. Though all may sanctify Thee, yet they sanctify Thee not as beseemeth Thy sanctification. Though all may glorify Thee, yet they glorify Thee not as beseemeth Thy glorification. Though all may magnify Thee, yet they magnify Thee not as beseemeth Thy magnitude. Though all may extol Thee, yet they extol Thee not as beseemeth Thy majesty.

Thy Will hath appeared in Thy heaven and Thy earth and whatsoever lieth between them. Those who would prove Thy knowledge—glory be unto Thee, glory be unto Thee—were they to know Thee they would not seek proof of Thee. The sign of Thy sovereignty hath been ordained in the kingdom of Thy Cause and Thy creation and whatsoever is beneath them. Those who would liken Thee have likened it to an example of Thy Self, yet were they to know Thee they would not compare Thee to it.

Thou art He Who hath not begotten, nor been begotten, and there hath been no consort for Thee nor any son. Thou hast ever existed before all things in the existence of Thine Essence, and wilt ever exist in the existence of Thy pure and essential Being. Thy Divine Reality draweth all beings to the sacred annihilation of Thy sovereignty. Thy camphor-like essence causeth all beings to ascend to the holy presence of Thy majesty. Thy Self-Subsistence causeth all names with whatsoever is within and upon them to rise up in humility before the Sovereign of Thy holiness and glory. Thy Eternity causeth all contingent things to be upraised in submission before Thine eyes upon the throne of Thy Self-Subsistence and independence.

Thou art He Who is not of anything, nor in anything, nor upon anything, nor before anything, nor after anything, nor above anything, nor below anything, nor to the right of anything, nor to the left of anything, nor in any direction of anything. All worship Thee, yet none worshippeth Thee as beseemeth Thy due. Indeed this utterance of mine is raised up to Thee through the Dawning-Place of Thy Self, where all worship Thee according to what Thou hast revealed in the Bayan. But on the Day when Thou wilt manifest Thy Self according to Thy due, none shall worship Thee save the number of the letters of the One, though all on that Day may say “Thee do we worship, unto Thee do we turn in devotion, before Thee do we bow down, before Thee do we humble ourselves, Thee do we praise, Thee do we remember, Thee do we seek, Thee do we desire, Thee do we love.”

Even then, there shall not be a single soul who, in its own estimation, doth not worship Thee according to the proof Thou hast perfected for it through the Book and Prophet Thou hast established for it. Yet none shall attain unto the Manifestation of Thy Self at that time, even as Thou seest upon that mountain, for nothing can know Him as beseemeth Thy knowledge, though all may claim to know Him.

It is as though I see the appearance of Him Whom Thou wilt make manifest, and I grieve for Him, for all turn toward Him by His command before His manifestation, yet all fail to turn toward Him through Thy Self manifested in Him, which is mightier than the commands of Thy previous manifestation. Therefore, O My God, I beseech Thee by the Bayan that none should remain veiled from the Manifestation of Thy Self, for all through Him turn unto Thee and through Him call upon Thee. But when He appears with proof mightier than that wherewith Thou didst establish the Bayan, My heart is grieved to mention His grief. Therefore, O My God, place a barrier between all things and Him lest anything witness grief, or else rend asunder the veils that those whom Thou hast destined to attain unto their Lord’s presence may recognize the bounty Thou hast ordained. Were a mountain to behold Him, it would be as one among the mountains that hath attained Thy presence on the Day of Resurrection. Similarly with all things whatsoever that bear the name of a thing.

How great, O My God, will be Thy Manifestation on the Day of Resurrection, when all strive to win Thy good-pleasure yet remain veiled from the Manifestation of Thy Self, even as now every soul worshippeth Thee according to its understanding, while Thou beholdest in Thy Manifestation naught but what resembleth that mountain which hath no one near it, save those whom Thou hast chosen for Thy Cause. All worship Thee, yet comprehend not the seat of the Manifestation of Thy Self. All return unto Thee, yet witness not the countenance of Thy Being. Indeed, such hath ever been the case, for from the day Thou didst create the Primal Will until now, all through It turn unto Thee and all address It before Thee, yet how rare are they who find It and rarer still are they who uphold Its truth.

But on the Day of Resurrection Thy proof through It shall appear unto all created things, for it behooveth not that Thou shouldst on that Day judge him who hath believed in the Qur’an, since Thy proof against them through what they possess of the Qur’an compelleth them to acknowledge Thy oneness, believe in the verses of Thy sovereignty, prostrate themselves before Thee, show humility before Thine eyes, and abide beneath the shadow of Thy Lordship and the dominion of Thy sovereignty.

Yet none comprehendeth this save him for whom Thou hast ordained this bounty, for Thou seest all worship Thee while remaining veiled from Thee, being veiled from Him whom Thou hast given Thy proof. All turn unto Thee as though they turn not unto Thee, inasmuch as they turn not unto Him whom Thou hast given […], for naught is seen in Him but Thee […] upon any other. Thou hast not attributed Him to Thyself save as Thou didst attribute the Ka’bah to Thyself and made it Thy House, though Thou art exalted above all places and limitations, and sanctified from all similitudes and allusions. No thing hath ever comprehended Thee […] in the kingdom of earth and heaven, nor can any among all created things ever arise to befittingly fulfill the right of Thy unity, according to the sublimity of Thy holy sanctity and the exaltation of Thy glorious uniqueness.

O God! Send Thy blessings upon the Primal Point and the First Letters in Thy Book, those upon whom Thou dost witness Thy love and good-pleasure, and send down upon those upon whom Thou dost not witness Thy love and good-pleasure that which befitteth Thy justice. For Thou hast ever been and wilt ever be bountiful unto the dwellers in the kingdom of Thy obedience, and just unto others through the sublimity of Thy holy uniqueness. Therefore, O God, bestow now upon me and upon whomsoever Thou lovest among Thy creation that which befitteth the sublimity of Thy grace and the exaltation of Thy generosity. Verily, Thou art the All-Bountiful, the Most Exalted.