BB00149: Prayer for the beginning of the month of Safar

A Prayer revealed at the beginning of the month of Sad.

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

Glorified art Thou, O my God! I testify before Thee on this day, the first day of the Month of the Letter Sad in the Badi’ calendar, even as Thou hast testified concerning Thine own Self, that Thou art God, and that there is none other God but Thee, alone with no partner. Thine is the creation and the command, both before and after. No descriptions offered by Thy servants can rightly describe the manifestations of Thy celestial dominion, no attributes ascribed by Thy chosen ones can properly characterize the revelations of Thy might, no mention made by Thy pure ones can adequately express the signs of Thy divinity, and none of Thy trusted ones can offer true worship befitting the manifestations of Thy attributes in the realities of the ruby-realm.

Glorified art Thou, O Lord! All seek Thy good-pleasure, though none has knowledge of it save through what Thou hast taught. All beseech from Thee what flows from Thy grace and mercy, and none of Thy servants can truly witness the reality of Thy bounty. All are poor before Thee and are Thy bondsmen. Thou hast created what Thou hast created through Thy Will, originated what Thou hast originated through Thy Purpose, invented what Thou hast invented through Thy Power, brought into being what Thou hast brought into being through Thy Permission, caused to happen what Thou hast caused to happen through Thy Decree, and established what Thou hast established through Thy Command. What Thou hast ordained is sealed by what Thou hast revealed in Thy Book. Nothing exists save through what Thou hast willed by Thy wisdom, and nothing has essence save through what Thou hast endowed by Thy might.

Thou art the Subduer Who cannot be subdued, the Vanquisher Who cannot be vanquished, the Manifest Who cannot be manifested, the One Who standeth firm Who cannot be comprehended, the All-Knowing Who cannot be described, and the All-Powerful from Whose grasp nothing can escape, the Single One from Whose right hand nothing can slip away. Thou hast created the highest heavens by Thy Command and established them from nothing by Thy Sovereignty. Then didst Thou create beneath them the earth and sustained it upon the face of frozen water by what Thou didst ordain through Thy Authority.

Glorified art Thou, O Lord! How lofty is Thy transcendence and elevation! How resplendent is the beauty of Thy countenance and Thy majesty! How subtle are the measures of the wonders of Thy Will and Thy favor! I shall surely praise Thee with fresh praise and ascend unto Thee with manifest glorification which Thou hast ordained for me. I shall surely delight in what Thou hast decreed for me in truth, for Thou art our Lord, the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them, the Most Exalted above Whom there is no observer, the Beloved, the Supreme, the Most Impregnable beneath Whom there is no manifestation, the Almighty, the Compeller, the Subduer, the All-Conquering, the Helper, the Self-Subsisting, the Most High, the Most Manifest, beneath Whom there is none possessed of authority and majesty, the All-Compelling, the Illuminating, the All-Powerful, the Most Holy, beneath Whom there is none possessed of awe and beauty. Every object of worship besides Thee, O my God, is false before Thee and abject in submission, and every mighty one before the threshold of Thy powerful glory is humble and seeking protection.

Glorified art Thou, O my God, above all praise that can be uttered in the realm of possibility, above all glorification that can exist in the highest heavens, above all praise whose essence can be manifested in the nether worlds, above all praise that can be joined with praise, above all praise that can equal praise, above all praise that can match praise, above all praise that has a likeness, above all praise that has a peer, above all praise that has an equal, above all praise that has an attribute, above all praise that has a description, above all praise that has an extolment, and above all praise that has a glory—for all these Thou hast created in the Kingdom on high through Thy creative power and hast brought into being in the realms below through Thy commanding will.

Glorified, glorified art Thou from my ascending to the atmosphere of Thy holiness and praise, or my rising to the horizon of Thy glory and sanctification, or my mounting to the heaven of Thy Lordship and what Thou hast described for Thyself of glorification, or my soaring to the atmosphere of Thy divine realm with what is with Thee of the sublimity of Thy splendor and magnification. For whatever is possible in creation and its people, or exists in invention and all else, or is realized in the heights of origination in its essence, or is determined in the names of creation in its reality—these are but signs indicating that Thou art free from them through what Thou hast cast therein of Thy similitude, and manifestations testifying that they are prevented from comprehending even the least thing of the revelations of the glory of Thy might through what Thou hast created by Thy sovereignty.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! All that ascends can never attain to anything of the reality of Thy praise, or what Thou hast described for Thyself of Thy sanctification, or what Thou hast testified to Thine Essence of Thy unity, or what is hidden and treasured with Thee in the knowledge of the unseen which none of Thy servants hath discovered. I can find no way and see no evidence. Through Thee have I turned unto Thee, O Beloved Exalted One, and through Thee have I become independent of all else save Thee, O Beautiful Desired One. Thine is the creation and the command, and verily Thou art the Praised, the Guardian. Thine is the judgment and the power, O Thou Who art feared at noontide.

All names are signs of Thy Will, for Thou hast no sign, and all manifestations are examples of Thy Purpose, for Thou hast no likeness. After my certitude that unto Thee belong all the most excellent names and my acknowledgment that unto Thee belong all the most exalted similitudes in their essence, I have witnessed none beside Thee and known none other than Thee. For Thou hast ever been and wilt ever be, existing before all things when naught was with Thee, and Thou wilt continue to be even as Thou wert, remaining after the passing of all things when naught shall be with Thee.

Glorified, glorified art Thou! Verily, Thou art my Beloved in every time, before time and after time, and verily Thou art my Desired One in every condition, before condition and after condition. The signs of the sovereignty of Thy mercy have ever been realized from Thee, and the manifestations of the wonders of the dominion of Thy oneness have ever existed through Thy creation. So whenever a wondrous verse descendeth upon me or Thou causest me to ascend to the horizon of a new reality, I find from Thee only what Thou hast testified of Thyself, not what Thou hast caused me to witness of that which Thou art worthy and which befitteth the majesty of Thy holiness and the exaltation of Thy glory. If I desire to thank Thee, O my God, for anything from the manifestations of the kingdom of Thy creation or for anything from the revelations of the dawning-places of Thy origination, thanksgiving requireth thanksgiving, for there is no end to Thy bounties and no limit to Thy favors.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! Through Thee do I remember Thee, not through aught else besides Thee. Through Thee do I praise Thee, not through any of the manifestations of Thy creation. Through Thee have I found stability before Thee, become enriched with what lieth with Thee, detached myself unto Thee, and ascended unto Thy presence. Make me, O my God, what beseemeth the glory of Thy sanctity, not what I deserve, for my first remembrance is nothingness and evanescence. Fashion me, O my God, according to what beseemeth the sublime loftiness of Thy exaltation and the eternal, self-subsisting glory of Thy sanctified grandeur. For if Thou shouldst deal with me according to my deserving, I would have no mention before Thee whereby to utter this or that. Rather, as Thou didst create me aforetime when I was nothing, and didst nourish me through Thy mercy after I drew near unto Thy Cause, I do in every instant testify unto Thee—and sufficient art Thou as witness over me—that Thou dost assuredly send down what beseemeth the glory of Thy sanctity, the splendor of Thy mighty majesty, the exaltation of Thy word of justice, the effulgence of Thy beauteous countenance, and the sublimity of Thy sovereign glory.

Yet when those sacred tokens, radiant manifestations, resplendent revelations, sanctified signs, and exalted emblems were sent down, they transformed my nature as it was transformed before Thee. Therefore, O my God, make right my inner and outer being, and preserve me, O my God, that I may follow naught save what draweth me nigh unto Thee, and that Thou mayest stand between me and whatsoever veils me from Thee. For Thou hast ever been, and wilt ever be, pleased only through Thy power and averse only through Thy will. Join me, O my God, to the light of Thy most exalted might, and raise me up unto Thee through Thy greatest signs, and cause me to pass away, O my God, and create me anew, for within Thy grasp lie the destinies of the first and the last.

The gates of Thy mercy are resplendent for the people of Thy love, and the manifestations of the dominion of Thy celestial kingdom are evident unto the people of Thy guidance. I turn unto Thee, O my God, through Muhammad and Ali and Fatimih and Hasan and Husayn and Ali son of Husayn and Muhammad son of Ali and Ja’far son of Muhammad and Musa son of Ja’far and Ali son of Musa and Muhammad son of Ali and Ali son of Muhammad and Hasan son of ʿAli and Muhammad son of Hasan—Thy proofs unto all Thy creation and Thy trustees throughout all the kingdoms of Thy earth and heaven—and through Thy names which Thou hast treasured with Thee and reserved unto Thyself, being certain and assured that there is no glorification except unto Thee, no praise except unto Thee, no unity except unto Thee, and no magnification except unto Thee, and that unto Thee belong creation and command, and that Thou art independent of all things while all things are dependent upon Thee through their reality and through what Thou hast established therein of the manifestation of Thy will.

I beseech Thee, O my God, to send Thy blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, and to do with me what is worthy of Thee, for Thou art the Lord of righteousness and the Lord of forgiveness, and to cause all who have believed in Thee and in Thy signs and who seek Thy good-pleasure to enter the kingdom of Thy grace and Thy glory. Verily Thou art our Lord, the Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is between them, the Lord of all worlds. Through Thee have we become independent of all else besides Thee, through Thee have we taken refuge in all that hath been sent down unto us from Thee, upon Thee do we rely in our journey’s end and our abode, unto Thee do we commit ourselves and what Thou hast given us to possess, and unto Thee do we entrust our affairs which Thou hast numbered in the Mother Book. We have naught save through Thy grace and Thy bounty. Therefore, O God, send Thy blessings upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad, who stand in ranks at all times, before time and after time. Glory be to thy Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe.