BB00213: Ziyarat for the first [to believe]

In the name of God, the Most Exalted, the Most Holy

Glorified art Thou, O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy Most Resplendent Beauty, Thy Most Exalted Majesty, Thy Most Comely Beauty, Thy Most Supreme Grandeur, Thy Most Brilliant Light, Thy Most Vast Mercy, Thy Most Perfect Words, Thy Most Great Names, Thy Most Mighty Glory, Thy Most Potent Will, Thy Most Pleasing Utterance, Thy Most Powerful Strength, Thy Most Noble Honor, Thy Most Enduring Sovereignty, Thy Most Glorious Dominion, Thy Most Elevated Loftiness, and Thy Most Ancient Grace, to send Thy blessings upon Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest on the Day of Resurrection, Who shall judge those who are in the Bayan and what was sent down from Thee aforetime, through the Kingdom and the Realm, then through Glory and Might, then through Power and Divinity, then through Force and the Ruby, then through Sovereignty and the Human Realm, then through Mercy and Grace, then through Authority and Justice, then through Honor and Majesty, then through the Countenance and Perfection, then through the Face and Beauty, then through Grandeur and Independence, then through Exaltation and Revelation, then through Gift and Bounty, then through Power and Action, then through Greatness and Pride, then through Glory and Inaccessibility, then through Might and Transcendence, then through Joy and Gladness, then through Providence and Detachment.

And Thou shalt raise up through His Word all who are in the Bayan to present themselves at the beginning of every month, wherein Thou hast ordained the mention of the joy of the First One, and at its end the mention of the sorrow of the First One, and Thou hast made these two the repositories of this exaltation of Thy Word and the inaccessibility of Thy sovereignty before Him. For I rejoice in His joy, and my heart doth not wish to mention His sorrow, for after His manifestation the Command is in His hands. I desire not the glory of the Bayan except that it should prostrate itself before Him, nor the exaltation of the Bayan except that it should bow down before His eyes, even as Thy Beloved before Him desired the exaltation of Islam and those within it only for Him unto Whom Thou didst reveal Thy verses, when He desired on the day of His presence before Thee that all who follow His religion should seek shelter in His shadow, that they might present themselves in such multitudes before Thee, and prostrate themselves before Thee, and believe in Thy verses.

For this is what He desired, and it behooveth on such a day that all who are in Islam should return, those without knowledge unto those with knowledge, and all those with knowledge unto the Gates of Guidance, and all the Gates of Guidance unto the Gates of the Most High, and all the Gates of the Most High unto the Gates of the Most Glorious, and all the Gates of the Most Glorious unto the Manifestation of Thy Self, until there remaineth not in Islam any soul except that it presenteth itself before Thee, prostrating before Thee, acknowledging Thy unity, and confessing Thy lordship. This is what behooveth Thee to witness on that Day concerning what Thou didst plant aforetime of the tree of Thy love. Yet Thou seest Him in Whose shadow all who are in Islam should seek shelter, presenting himself in such wise before Thee in the presence of the Manifestation of Thy Self, in a station which Thou dost witness, with none to offer Him greetings, and none presenting themselves before Thee as they present themselves before the Manifestation of Thy Self, save those who were with Him among the believers in the First Unity.

This is the fruit of what Thy Beloved planted among those who followed His religion. Therefore, O my God, cause me not to grieve before Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest, for I have ordained naught save for the exaltation of His glory and the elevation of His Cause, and I would love to present before Him on the day of His manifestation all who are in the Bayan as prostrating, worshipping, devoted, submissive, humble, mindful, and thankful servants. Our Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the Lord of the earth, the Lord of all things, Who hath created us by His command for Him Whom He shall call besides Himself. That sufficeth us; in Him do we put our trust, and upon God let all trust.

Let the servants of God who place their trust in Him depend upon God. Such is what appears unto Him Who is manifested, for appearance before Thy Essence is not possible except through appearance before Him, since Thou hast ordained appearance before Him to be appearance before Thee. I have believed in naught else and expected nothing besides this. That is the Day wherein all appear before Thee through their appearance before Me, and Thou dost witness those who appear. Glory be unto Thee! There is no God but Thee! Glory be unto Thee! I have ever been among those who remember Thee.

At the beginning of each month, or on its final day—that is, the day of Baha and ʿAla in thy year, each of which corresponds to the number of Unity—it behooveth the servant to manifest the utmost joy at the beginning, and the utmost detachment at the end, for the first mention of a thing is its life and its end is its ascension unto its Lord. Should you attain unto Him Whom God shall make manifest, then stand before God and seek none other, and enter not the stations which thou wert commanded. And if before that time, then attain unto the Point if thou art able, and if not, then unto the stations of the Living if thou canst reach them, and recite that prayer.

And thou shouldst show love on these two days unto those who are under thy shadow, and visit thy parents on these days for they have precedence over all others. Then show kindness on these days unto those who look to thee according to thy means, for thou art not charged beyond what thou art capable of. And if thou art unable to spend from the treasuries of God’s Cause, then spend from joy and gladness in the faces of thy brothers and sisters. Then enter what belongeth unto God before God and say: “All glory be from God upon thee, O Essence of Glory!”

This is the day whereon all who dwell therein should seek shelter under the shadow of the martyrs of Islam who came before, then the martyrs should seek shelter under the shadow of the Other Gate, then one after another should seek shelter under the shadow of him whom God hath placed above him until they reach unto Thee, where no soul remaineth in Islam except that it is gathered through the emissaries of Thy grace under Thy shadow. Then let them be present with their entirety before God, and let all who follow Thy religion be under Thy shadow and prostrate themselves before God, and let none be granted permission besides Thee, for all within their stations derive grace through Thee from God. And should none be present with Thee under Thy shadow before God from among those who have followed Thy religion except those whom Thou permittest through Thy grace, as a manifestation of thy Lord’s bounty and a perfection of thy Creator’s favor.

In such wise should the Point of the Bayan present himself before Him Whom God shall make manifest, exalted be His mention, that it may be a glorification of His Cause, an exaltation of His might, and a demonstration of His sovereignty. Cursed be everyone who hath believed in the Bayan and seeketh not shelter under My shadow to present himself before God, my Lord, on the Day when I shall present myself before Him Whom God shall make manifest, and I desire to prostrate myself outwardly before God and to aid the Cause of God inwardly. And if God hath made all that is on earth to be of the Bayan, I shall make them all to be prostrators before God, worshippers of God’s Essence, presenters before God’s countenance, content with God’s mirrors, and attenders before God.

For this hath He created Me, and for this have I revealed the Bayan and those within it. How excellent is he who fulfilleth his covenant and is not veiled from Me in My hereafter when I desire to bury the mention of Him Whom God shall make manifest and cause all who are in the Bayan to enter beneath His shadow. For this hath God created Me and all things, and verily He is I and I am He, and at that time I am not, nor is He on that day, save mirrors of His purpose wherein naught is seen except God, speaking from the beginning that hath no beginning unto the end that hath no end:

“Verily I am God, there is no God but Me, and all else is My creation. Say: O My creation, worship ye Me!”