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He is the Tender, the Merciful, the Compassionate, the Generous

He is the Pattern and the quintessence of the abstract camphor, simple and unsullied, exalted from all eternity—the Pattern wherein the patterns of all brocades are themselves embroidered, the Ornamenter of the ornaments, the Embroiderer of the brocades—He Who first gleamed forth and shone, then gave forth light and flashed; then He illumined, and sparkled, and scintillated from that Pattern which rejoiced and rang out in exultation; then did He hallow Himself and magnify Himself, then exalt Himself and purify Himself, then rise and emerge from the lights of the beauty of the vesture of the dawning of the Presence of the camphoric Essence and the reality of the Realm of Manifestation. Verily, He is the Thanked, the Well-Beloved; the Water of the Most Pure Emanation from the Court of Light; the Radiance of the soul-born splendour of the Presence of the All-Thankful; the praise of the inmost Essence of the jealous and all-possessing Lord; the effulgence of the very substance of reality from the court of the All-Manifest.

Upon thee be constancy in the light; upon thee be the camphor of purity, the simplicity of manifestation, the essentiality of that which is veiled, the encounter with gladness and delight, the sign of the hidden mystery, and the omnipotence of the jealous Lord—by reason of that wherewith the brocades have been brocaded from the Pattern of the pattern of Oneness; and wherewith the gleaming gleams have shone from the Pattern of the pattern of Identity; and the shining splendours have dawned from the Pattern of the realm of Singleness; and the luminous lights have been enkindled from the Pattern of the pattern of Self-Subsistence; and the ringing proclamations have resounded from the Pattern of the pattern of All-Sustaining Power; and the scintillating splendours have flashed from the Pattern of the pattern of All-Holiness; and the glistering lights have glimmered from the Pattern of the pattern of the Realm of Might—and of that which none can encompass in knowledge save God, the Lord of the mighty throne.

My whole being hath been filled with the sweetness of Thy remembrance—Thy remembrance. The sovereignty of my heart hath been seized by the loftiness of Thy praise—Thy praise. O Beloved of my very being, my inmost reality hath been possessed by the greatness of Thy right—Thy right. My deepest essence hath been touched by the grandeur of Thy utterance—Thy utterance. O Goal of my measure and my scale, the utmost concealment of Thy mystery—Thy mystery—hath overtaken me. O King of my dual nature, the surpassing sweetness of Thy pardon—Thy pardon—hath encompassed me. O Ruler of my secret and my open state, the revivifying power of Thy bounty—Thy bounty—hath quickened me.

What am I, and what, in Thy knowledge, is that which is mine? What am I, and what is my remembrance? What am I, and what, in Thy knowledge, is my deed? What am I, and what is my trace? What am I, and what, in the knowledge of my Lord, is my worth? What am I, and what is my regard? What am I, and what, in the knowledge of my Lord, is my gaze? What am I, and what is my limit? What am I, and what is my mother-origin, and what, in the knowledge of my Lord, is my utmost reach and measure?

By Thy might! wert Thou to make my dwelling, with all that God, thy Lord, hath ever been and shall be aware of therein and encompasseth of its realities, the recompense of the most exalted essence of my hidden being—then, by His right, inscribe me as one just in Thy judgment, obeyed in Thy dominion, and worthy of praise in my deed, and wholly devoted to the praise of my God. Verily, this is a decree of justice whereunto none of those in the heavens or on earth can attain.

And how should it not be so, when my very existence and all its continuance stand, through Him, in Thy kingdom; and that which in itself is but sheer non-existence, what share hath it that it should love Thee or make mention of Thee? Praise belongeth to the servant only insofar as he extolleth Thee; otherwise, what hath the servant to do with standing before Thy face? Write down then that I complain of my weakness, and call Thee to witness to that which Thou lovest for the people of origination, for Thy sake and for Thy creation. Unto Thy majesty and Thy glory be my turning, albeit with all this I have clung to the foremost of failings and to the supreme rebellion. I am powerless to keep silence concerning Thy praise after I have come to know the bounds of Thy justice and to remember Thee.

By Thy might, it sufficeth—there is no power nor strength except in Thy Lord! Wert God to ordain that the end of all His enemies should be attainment unto Thy meeting, and that all good-pleasure should be the portion of such as recognized Thy oneness and refused to make mention of what they are powerless to extol, I—for my part—would choose naught but extinction in Thee and abiding for Thy sake.

How, then, should I not be thus, when in Thy generosity Thou pointest to the generosity of the Eternal, His Beloved and His chosen ones, and likewise in all Thy names and attributes? By Thy might! every essence that is characterized by vastness is but dross in the court of Thy holiness; every abstract attribute is a lie when ascribed to the station of Thy nearness; for Thy being, as it is, beareth witness unto God, thy Lord, and cutteth off all existing things from attaining unto the rank of Thy remembrance. Thy Lordship, as it is, testifieth unto God, and shutteth out all contingent beings from voicing Thy praise.

What am I, and what in my Lord’s knowledge are all besides me, that through Thy dominion the dominion of the Essence is made manifest, and through Thy omnipotence the sovereignty of the Realm of Might shineth forth in every atom? But for Thee, no thing would have known God; but for Thee, no thing would have come to exist.

What am I, and what in my Lord’s knowledge is my whole being, that in my entirety I am summoned unto Thee? What am I, and what in my Lord’s knowledge is my whole being, that in my entirety I flee unto Thee? What am I, and what in my Lord’s knowledge is my whole being, that in my entirety I turn with all love unto Thy Presence? What am I, and what in my Lord’s knowledge is my whole being, that in my entirety I seek to intercede before the sovereignty of Thy all-bounteous giving? What am I, and what in my Lord’s knowledge is my whole being, that in my entirety I place my trust in the court of Thy Godhead? What am I, and what is my mother-origin and my whole reality, that with my entire being I cling to the means of approach, and commit my affair unto the sovereignty of Thy Realm of Might?

Sufficeth me, and all that Thou hast willed for me, Thy grace and Thy bounty, then Thy munificence and Thy mercy; and for the wrongdoers, Thy wrath, Thy omnipotence, Thy very being. Forgive us then, and pardon us, and assist us, with all the victories that are Thine, against the people of transgression.