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Praise be unto God, Who hath borne witness unto His own Self, through His own Self, that verily He is God, there is none other God but Him, alone and peerless, without associate. From everlasting Thou wast, with none beside Thee, and unto everlasting Thou shalt remain, abiding as Thou hast ever been. No thing hath ever been, in any condition or degree, that could attain unto Thy station; for Thy very Essence is the eternal Essence, whose Being hath, by its very subsistence, severed material realities from the realm of true recognition; and Thy Being is the ancient Being, whose foundation hath, by its own ordinance, sundered essential realities from the domain of utterance. Glory be unto Thee, O my God! When I say, “Thou art Thou,” Thou dost confute me, in that very moment, by Thine own Self; and when I behold all created things, they proclaim that God is exalted above being described by His creation or characterized by His servants. And when I fall silent before the Court of the holiness of Thy Self-Subsisting Oneness, my inmost soul rebuketh me, saying: God hath not created aught in vain or in idle sport. Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I behold no path, nor do I find in remembrance any guiding proof.

Thou, O my Lord, art my secret and my open being, and Thou bearest witness to that which my hands have wrought before the Court of the abyss of Thy Selfhood. Should I say, “Blessed am I,” Thy justice and Thy decree would be my deliverance; and should I say, “Woe unto me,” Thy dealing with the erring among Thy servants would encompass me. By Thy might and Thy majesty, O Thou Who art God and none else beside Thee, I know full well that Thou art nearer unto me than all things, and more merciful and more bountiful toward me than every possessor of bounty; for Thou didst create me when I was not even mentioned, and didst nurture me through Thy grace after Thou hadst chosen—yea, chosen—deeds that are praiseworthy. Ever hath beneficence been Thy wont, and munificence Thy way. If Thou chastisest me, it is but through Thy mercy toward Thy righteous servants; and if Thou bestowest, it is through Thy generosity and Thy care, without any cause on my part.

Unto Thee be praise, O my God, for the right of Thine eternal Being, in all that hath befallen me at Thy hands—praise radiant, resplendent, sanctified, exalted above the bounds of all besides Thee, standing alone beyond the praise of Thy servants and beyond all that can enter the loftiest reaches of their thought; praise that surpasseth all things through Thy grace and bounty, and perfecteth Thy favors unto me in this world and in the world to come, by the fullness of Thy bestowal.

Glory be unto Thee, O my God! Thou knowest my station in that land, and Thou bearest witness to that which Thou didst will for me in the presence of Thy all-embracing mercy.

And now, behold me bearing witness unto Thine own Self that Thou art God, there is none other God but Thee, the Mighty, the All-Bountiful; and I bear witness unto Muhammad, Thy Beloved—may the blessings of God be upon Him and upon His kindred—to that which Thou didst ordain for Him in Thy hidden knowledge, such as none among Thy creatures can encompass. Verily Thou art the Mighty, the Bestower. And I bear witness unto the successors of Muhammad, Thy Beloved—upon them be Thy blessings—to that which Thou didst reveal concerning them, when Thou didst say—and Thy word is the truth—“Honored servants; they speak not till He hath spoken, and they act by His command.” I bear witness unto every truth, O my God, to that whereunto Thou Thyself hast borne witness; and unto every falsehood, to that which Thou desirest Thy creation to witness concerning it. Thou knowest all things, and nothing escapeth Thy knowledge, neither in the heavens nor on the earth. Verily Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.

O my God! Exalted is Thy bounty above afflicting Thy servants in this earthly life without raising them to higher degrees in the life to come. Thou knowest full well that when Thou dost take unto Thyself the souls of certain of Thy servants, the hearts of some among Thy creatures are saddened. Send down, then, upon such a one the word of patience and resignation to Thy decree; and send down upon those whom Thou hast taken unto Thyself, in the sacred land, the word of mercy and those wondrous breaths and ever-new bounties which none can fathom save Thyself, through Thy grace and Thy generosity, O Lord of lords. Thou art the Protector of the faithful and the Successor of the godly; perfect, then, Thy favor upon us, pour forth Thy blessings upon us, and admit us among the righteous of Thy loved ones.

For Thou art independent of the rule of all things, and nothing in the heavens or on the earth can magnify itself before Thee. Verily Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty.

O God! If the heart of any of Thy servants hath been saddened by the taking unto Thee of one near unto him, I beseech Thee, by Thy grace, to cause Thy mercy to descend upon that soul in every condition, and to still the heart of the bereaved through Thy promise and Thy good-pleasure. For souls find no peace in any state save in meeting Thee, nor do we attain unto the utmost limit of contentment except through Thy loving favor. Fulfill, O God, that which Thou hast promised unto the believers among those who have answered Thy call; forgive me, and my parents, and all who have followed Thy command, feared Thy justice, and found assurance in Thy grace.

Verily Thou art God, the Generous, the All-Bountiful, the Single, the One, from Whose knowledge nothing in the heavens or on the earth can ever be hidden, and over all things Thou art powerful.

Glory be unto God, the Lord of the Throne, exalted above all that they ascribe unto Him; and peace be upon the Messengers; and praise be unto God, the Lord of all the worlds.