BB00659

Part 1: “Glorified art Thou, O my God, Lord…”

Glorified art Thou, O my God, Lord of the heavens and of the earth and of whatsoever lieth between them, far exalted above that I should make mention of Thee with my remembrance of Thee, or extol Thee with my praise within Thy dominion.

For whatsoever I have apprehended of the reality of mine own being, and whatsoever my soul hath borne witness unto, though it reach the loftiest pinnacles of mention and exaltation and the furthest limit of the essences of praise and glory, is but sheer bounty from Thee unto me, in that Thou lovest praise, pure and unsullied.

How then can nearness unto Thee be attained through that which, in Thy sight, possesseth no true being? How can I make a means of approach unto Thee, and a cause of attaining Thy presence, that which, before Thee, is but as the mere tallying of a letter?

Glorified and exalted art Thou! By Thy remembrance of me I became one remembered; by Thy self-revelation unto my soul I came into existence; by Thy glance toward me I was made honoured; and by Thy grace within me I was adorned with nobility.

Glory be unto Thee and exalted art Thou! Thine is the supreme exaltation above every exaltation, and the beauty of Thy majesty and Thy glory towereth above every majesty and praise.

I call Thee, in this very state, to witness unto the oneness of Thine own Self and the sanctity of Thine Essence, with that very testimony wherewith Thou didst bear witness unto Thyself in the pre-eternal eternities, and didst make Thy Self known thereby in a manner which none of the denizens of the realm of mortality can ever comprehend.

Glorified and blessed art Thou! Through the reality of Thy being Thou hast cut off all essences from the station of nearness unto Thee; through Thy ipseity Thou hast raised Thyself above the degree where contingent things can subsist in the knowledge of Thee. Through Thine eternity Thou hast exalted Thyself above the loftiness of Thy very majesty: all things have fallen short of attaining unto Thee, of gaining Thy good pleasure, of ascending unto Thee, and of appearing before Thee.

Hallowed be Thou! Thine is the praise in the heavens and on the earth, and Thine is the glory in the kingdoms of command and creation. From all eternity Thou hast been the Remembrant of Thine own Self by Thine own Self, the Extoller of Thine Essence by Thine Essence. The praise of Thy creatures and the thanksgiving of Thy servants do but proclaim their poverty and confess their nothingness, and such a thing beseemeth not the court of Thy self-sufficing holiness, nor is it meet for the majesty of Thy peerless oneness.

From everlasting Thou hast been creating whatsoever Thou willest as Thou willest, and bringing forth whatsoever Thou desirest by Thy desire. Naught hath been the cause of Thy bringing-into-being save Thy command “Be”, and naught the reason for Thy fashioning save Thy grace “It is”. All manifestations, in Thy sight, are but a motionless creation which Thou hast called into being for some purpose, saying unto it “Be!”, whereupon it hath glorified Thy Face and fallen in a swoon before the might of Thy self-subsistence.

Blessed and exalted art Thou! Thou exaltest in might whomsoever Thou willest, and deprivest of that might whomsoever Thou desirest, through the power of Thine omnipotence.

Glory be unto Thee! There is naught except by Thy will; no decree nor destiny but by Thy purpose; no irrevocable judgment save by Thy sanction; no effulgent splendour save by Thy primal ordaining. No one hath any power save through the sovereignty of Thy holiness; no one possesseth any honour save through the kingship of Thy sanctity. No might, in the kingdom of origination, but confesseth its impotence before Thy power; no grandeur in the highest heaven of invention but boweth low before Thy greatness.

Before the dread of Thee all faces are humbled; before the onset of Thy dominion all hearts are made to tremble; before the sovereignty of Thy self-subsistence all hands are abased; before the dawn of Thy oneness all visages are brought low; before the direction of Thy majesty all hearts are confounded; before the awe of Thy self-sufficingness all souls are made to quake. Prostrate fall the faces, and that which lay hidden in the inmost parts, of the very substance of minds, is abased before the sanctity of the splendour of the light of Thy oneness.

The bodies are made to shudder before the beauty of that whereby Thou hast manifested Thyself unto them in the kingdoms of Thy earth and Thy heaven.

Glorified and exalted art Thou! I praise Thee for all that Thou hast decreed and ratified—a praise that no praise in Thy knowledge can equal, nor any extolment in Thy dominion resemble; a praise which, in its ascendancy above every other praise, is as the ascendancy of Thine own Self above all Thy creation, and which, in its excellence above all other praise, is as the excellence of Thine Essence above all Thy servants.

Glorified and exalted art Thou! I praise Thee for all that Thou hast decreed and ratified—a praise that surpasseth the praise of all who praise, and towereth above the extolment of all who know, descending at the gate of the court of Thy holy presence and Thy dawning Countenance; a praise which Thou lovest, and wherewith Thou art well-pleased from such as praise Thee thereby;

—A praise that filleth the heavens with Thy bounty, and the fire (of hell) with Thy justice, and the earth with Thy grace; a praise through which Thy mercy is diffused, the doors of Thy favour are flung open, and the oceans of Thy generosity surge forth; a praise whereby Thou conferrest, upon such as remember Thee therewith, the treasures of Thy munificence, and strengthenest, on behalf of such as extol Thee thereby, the hosts of Thy heavens and of Thy earth, with whatsoever is in Thy dominion—

—A praise through which Thou art well-pleased, then and there, with the denizens of Thy world of origination; through which Thou bestowest upon the dwellers in Thy realm of invention, by Thy creative command, the high degrees of Thy transcendent manifestations, Thy wondrous theophanies, Thy ancient modes, Thy mighty signs, Thy subtle breezes, Thy new-born tokens, Thy exalted intimations, and all that Thou hast ever brought forth in any kingdom encompassed by Thy knowledge, at Thy word of command, “Be!”

Glorified and exalted art Thou! A praise that multiplieth the goodly deeds and transmuteth the evil deeds into merits, and maketh of those merits degrees in Thy sight, so that no good that Thy knowledge hath encompassed escapeth him who reciteth it, and no evil that Thy Book hath recorded reacheth him. He shall abide within the cave of Thy might, the guardianship of Thy glory, the grasp of Thy power, and the fortress of Thy majesty; he shall behold no sorrow before Thee and in Thy presence, shall hear no vain talk, and no loathing shall come to his heart.

He shall be established upon the throne of the manifestation of Thy revelation, even as the establishment of the dawning of Thy loving-kindness upon the Throne—able to accomplish what he desireth, empowered to do that which he willeth, exalted and overshadowing whatsoever is in the kingdoms of earth and heaven.

A praise whereby there descends upon me the wondrous tokens of Thy succour, whereby the gates of Thy bounty are opened before me, whereby the means of all means, in the heavens and on the earth, are gathered together for me, and whereby the hosts of whatsoever is in Thy knowledge become the guardians of Thy remembrance.

Glorified and exalted art Thou! Thou art indeed the Knower of inmost hearts, the Witness unto all secrets. I behold my praise of Thine own Self as naught but a grievous sin, for it proceedeth from mine own being, which in Thy sight is sheer non-existence and utter poverty unto Thee in Thy dominion.

By Thy might, by the authority of Thy self-sufficingness, by Thy power and the kingship of Thy oneness! Wert Thou to create, from the heaven of the Throne down to beneath the dust, a fire such as no fire in Thy knowledge could equal, by reason of the intensity of its heat and the vehemence of its roaring, then to fill all that expanse of air with my body and punish me therein for the entire duration of Thine eternity—Thou ever hast been and ever shalt be—and to double for me, at every least instant which Thou hast encompassed in Thy knowledge, the measure of Thy power, Thy greatness, Thy might, Thy majesty, as the recompense for my praising Thine own Self, my remembering Thee, my affirming Thy unity and acknowledging Thy being—still would I be deserving of that, and of more than that which Thou mayest decree.

If such, then, would be the recompense for the highest essence of my remembrance and the furthest bounds of the loftiest peaks of my praise within Thy dominion, how shall it be with the requital for what my hands have wrought of my greatest misdeeds, and what my soul hath sent on before of my most grievous transgressions?

Glorified art Thou, my Lord! I verily am the one stained with the most calamitous enormities and saddled with the most grievous burdens, whilst Thou, if Thou but willest to pronounce the word of judgment, couldst, in a single instant, cause all who are in the kingdoms of command and creation to perish. Yet wouldst Thou still remain the King, the Self-Subsisting, obeyed in Thy realm, praised in Thy deeds, thanked in Thy decrees of wisdom, and supreme in the kingdom of Thine earth and Thy heaven—this being that which naught can weigh against, and which no thing can ever bear.

Glorified art Thou and exalted! Thou hast never passed, nor dost Thou pass, any verdict save through bounty; nor hast Thou decreed, nor dost Thou decree, save in justice. Thy justice towards the sinners is pure mercy, that Thou mayest deliver them from the torment their own hands have wrought and bring them nigh unto the station of Thy nearness—and this is naught but grace from Thy Presence.

Glorified and exalted art Thou! Thou, verily, art the Self-Sufficient above all Thy servants. No obedience of such as lay claim to Thy right profiteth Thee, O Lord; nor doth the ingratitude of such as heedlessly turn away from Thy Face and withdraw from Thy Countenance diminish aught from Thy dominion. Thine are the favours, the bestowals, the bounties unto all Thy servants.

Verily, the believers are in lofty chambers of Thy good-pleasure, rejoicing; there are they provided with whatsoever they desire; naught shall grieve them therein, and within the mercy of their Lord shall they abide for ever. But as for the idolaters, they are, in very truth, arraigned in the chastisement; naught of what their hands have sent before shall avail them, nor shall they there find any to succour or defend them.

Glory be to Thee, O my Lord! Make me of those who, with their whole being, have severed themselves unto Thee; who have turned toward Thee with the full gaze of their countenance; who have forsaken all save Thee by seeking to appear before Thee; who have turned away from all that is other than Thee by directing themselves wholly unto Thee; who have made the glances of their eyes, the stirrings of their souls, and the motions of their hands all devoted to drawing nigh unto Thee, to pondering Thy power, and to meditating upon the traces of Thy Lordship.

Glory be to Thee, O my Lord! If Thou dost not number me among these near ones, I shall assuredly be of the forgotten; for none possesseth any merit of his own. Glorified art Thou! Thou art the Knower of my secret and my open, the Witness unto my beginning and my end. I have loved none save Thee, or aught that Thou lovest in Thy realm; I have willed naught save what Thy knowledge hath willed; I have desired naught save what Thy Book hath ordained; I have judged in naught save according to what Thy Lordship hath decreed.

O Lord! Here stand I before Thee, confessing what I am worthy of, and assured of what Thou art worthy of. I deserve naught but the fire; Thou deservest naught but good-pleasure. Make then my desert, in the presence of Thy desert, lowly, submissive, penitent, fully recognizing all that Thou art; for wert Thou not to deal thus with me, and wert Thou to judge me according to that desert, the violence of such a judgment would cause me to burst asunder, and the pillars of my being to crumble in fear of it.

Part 2: “Far be it from Thy sanctified Lordship! Such…”

Far be it from Thy sanctified Lordship! Such is not the thought to be conceived of the King of Thy holiness. I have witnessed naught from Thee but favour and grace; I have known naught save Thy mercy—this, from Thee and Thee alone. Thy wont with any soul hath never been other than this, nor is Thy way aught but exalted above such dealing.

Glorified and exalted art Thou! Thou beholdest my seat in the broad plain of lowliness and brokenness; Thou seest my distress amidst the oceans of sorrow and poverty. In Thy grasp, O Lord, are the kingdoms of victory and exaltation; in Thy right hand lie the measures of deliverance and joy.

O Lord! Send down upon me the sovereignty of Thy ordering and the key of my release; for by Thy will all affairs are made submissive, by Thy purpose all decrees run their course, by Thy power Thou holdest fast the heavens and the earth and whatsoever lieth between them, and by Thy majesty Thou art exalted above the description of all that is in the realm of origination.

I beseech Thee, then, by Thy might which none in the heavens or on the earth can withstand; by Thy dominion before which all that is in the kingdoms of command and creation hath bowed down; by the majesty of the splendour of the direction of Thy glory; and by the beauty of the radiance of the dawning of Thy self-sufficiency—send down Thy blessings upon Muhammad and the kindred of Muhammad, the signs of Thy unity and the manifestations of Thy oneness, even as Thou art upon the Throne of power and greatness and the seat of might and glory—such as no knowledge of any of Thy creatures can encompass.

O Lord! Then do Thou cause to descend upon me the treasuries of joy; vouchsafe unto me the stations of severance; honour me with the places of renunciation, that I may ascend unto Thee in spirit unto the Most Exalted Dominion, and there prostrate myself before Thy Countenance, lowly and submissive, neither proud nor disdainful, but hopeful in what Thou art, and seeking that which lieth treasured in the depositories of Thy command.

Verily, I will glorify Thee with that wherewith Thou hast glorified Thine own Self; I will make mention of Thee with that wherewith Thou hast described Thine Essence; I will hallow Thee with that wherewith Thou hast hallowed Thine own Being; I will exalt Thee above all that Thou hast declared Thyself exalted from; I will praise Thee with that wherewith Thou hast praised Thy Self in the kingdom of Thine eternity; I will thank Thee for the fulfilment of all that Thou hast showered upon me of Thy bounties, with that which Thou hast loved in Thy Book; and I will, by this, be numbered among Thy true worshippers.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! No mercy that hath encompassed but an atom in the heavens and the earth but it hath descended from the clouds of Thy favour; no affliction that hath befallen any of Thy servants but it hath been by the sovereignty of Thine irrevocable decree. There is for no one any escape save unto Thee; there is for none any flight save towards Thee.

Glory be to Thee! Through Thee have I known Thee, and through Thee have I borne witness unto Thy oneness. There is no God but Thee, Thou art One without partner. Thine is the creation and the command. There is none other God but Thee, the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy.

Through Thee have I exalted Thee above the description of any other, and purified Thee from the characterization of Thy creatures. Hadst Thou not revealed Thyself unto me through the working of Thy power, I had been a thing non-existent. Hadst Thou not reared me within the grasp of Thy might, I had become a thing forgotten, forgotten. Hadst Thou not preserved me through the sovereignty of Thy omnipotence, I had been but sheer nothingness; and hadst Thou not held me fast by that same might wherewith Thou holdest whatsoever is in the heavens and on the earth, I had been as on that day when I was a thing unremembered.

Glory be to Thee! My distress unto Thee is, at every moment, as it was before my existence in Thy sight; my poverty before Thee is as on the day of my non-being in Thy knowledge. From all eternity there hath been no cause for Thy great bounties save the manifestations of Thy most exalted glories, and no reason for Thy gracious favour save the scenes of Thy most beauteous grace.

Glorified art Thou and blessed! Unto Thee belong everlasting might, eternal power, the strength of Thine unshadowed self-sufficiency, the majesty of Thine incomparable singleness, and the glory, the awe, the splendour and the sovereignty.

Thou bestowest Thy judgment upon whomsoever Thou wilt, and withholdest Thy good-pleasure from whomsoever Thou desirest. No honour is there save in Thy love, and no abasement save in Thy wrath. All the hosts that are in Thy knowledge are but Thy word “Be”; and the uprising of that Word proceedeth from naught but Thy command.

Blessed and exalted art Thou! Thou bringest into being what Thou wilt by Thy origination, and Thou callest forth whatsoever Thou desirest by Thy causing to appear. Thou hast created all things after the form of Thy love, and fashioned their images in the fairest manner that can be brought forth by Thy power, that none may be veiled from the light of Thy Countenance, nor any be far removed from the court of the holiness of Thy Face.

Verily, Thou art my Beloved in my secret and my open, Thou art my Aim in the very core of my being, and the end of the mention of my inmost identity. Thou art the object of my desire in every longing, Thou art my sole quest in my returning unto Thee, Thou art the sum of all that I have wished for in the affair of my life in this world and the next.

Thou art my Paradise and the emerald pavilion my dwelling; Thou art my delight and the “seat of truth” my abiding-place. Were there naught that pointed to the reality of Thy “thingness” (shay’iyyat), by Thy might, I could not flee therefrom; it would be but a fire in my breast.

Glorified art Thou! Whenever the servants that are of the people of opposition and contrariety increase, the waves of the oceans of Thy mercy surge and clash, and the spheres are set in motion through the manifestation of Thy bounty and Thy grace.

Thou art, in all conditions, my glory and my honour. By Thy might and the majesty of Thy self-subsistence, never in the path of Thy love have I beheld abasement, not even for the twinkling of an eye; for Thy glory hath not struck terror into my heart, though all things should be made obedient unto me. Verily, Thou dwellest within my secret heart and sufficest for my outward state.

I beg Thy forgiveness for every pleasure that is not in the remembrance of Thee; for every ease save familiar converse with Thy Presence and standing before the Sovereignty of the majesty of Thy glory; for every joy save in Thy good-pleasure; for every desire save in the meeting with Thee.

And if Thou knowest within me aught short of this, then—by Thy might—I am the one who imploreth pardon and turneth penitent unto Thee for whatsoever I have wrought, though I neither sought nor willed it: it but came upon me, even as one fleeth in haste from line to line.

Glorified and exalted art Thou! Thine are the bounty, the favour, the majesty, and the command. Vouchsafe unto me a state wherein I behold Thy manifestations as but one single manifestation, and Thy modes as naught but one single mode—wherein the faces of the tyrants are humbled before the dread of Thee, and the hearts of the vainglorious are bowed down before the majesty of Thy oneness.

Verily, Thou art He Who separateth all things by Thy might and Thy dominion, and Who exerciseth judgment over every atom by Thy power and Thy kingdom. Thy will hath ever been victorious, none can overcome it; Thy purpose speedily effective, none can turn it back.

And the people of Thy love, in every condition, abide in the green pavilion in Thy presence: naught of what the hands of Thine enemies have wrought can grieve them, for Thou art the One supreme over them by virtue of Thy promise, and the Inheritor of whatsoever Thou didst give them to possess, through Thy power.

Nor am I saddened by that which befalleth me at the hands of Thy servants; for all things lie within Thy grasp. Thou judgest for whomsoever Thou wilt, as Thou wilt; Thou decreest for whom Thou desirest, as Thou desirest.

Thou art He from Whom no fugitive can escape, and from Whose realm none can flee with injustice. All shall be gathered unto Thee on the Day of Witnessing; all shall be questioned concerning that which their hands have wrought regarding Thy servants. Verily, Thou art the Truth, in ambush; Thou judgest with equity and art not unjust toward Thy creatures.

Thou seest my seat, and the seat of those who have waxed proud against me—yet they are Thy servants. If Thou knowest that they desired to attain unto Thy meeting, then Thou art more meet to reward them than any other beside Thee; and if Thy testimony against them be other than this, Thou art more meet to seize them than any other than Thee.

There is no will save through Thy will, firm and dominant; no purpose save in Thy purpose, all-encompassing and supreme; no destiny save by Thy majestic and mighty power; no decree save through Thy sovereignty, ancient and everlasting; no permission save by the leave of the King of Thine eternal, peerless oneness; no term save according to the terms of Thy all-holy, all-sanctified attributes; and no Book save by Thy most beauteous, most subtle, most wondrous Names.

And I—lo, I am one gone forth from every claim, fleeing from every might, escaping from every strength, fearful of every power, afraid of every glory, seeking refuge from every victory: I turn unto Thee and intercede before Thee by the grace that pointeth unto Thee, seeking entrance into Thy presence, gazing upon Thy Countenance, confessing before Thee, rejoicing in Thy good-pleasure, finding power in Thy power, abundance in Thy majesty, strength in Thy might, glory in Thy greatness, and sovereignty in Thy grandeur—through all that Thou art in Thy Names and Thine attributes; through all that Thou art in Thy splendour and Thy origination.

I entreat Thee then by Him who, in Thy presence, is nearer than all else, and by him who, after Him, is nearest unto Thee among such as are beneath him, according to all that Thou dost number and recount, that Thou send down Thy blessings upon Muhammad and the manifestations of His Self, as numerous as the letters of the Face, in the revelation of Thy Countenance; and that Thou inscribe for me, through them, whatsoever Thou art in Thy bounty and Thy munificence, and whatsoever of the keys of Thy good Thou holdest in Thy hand; that Thou bestow, upon whomsoever Thou wilt, through Thy gracious giving, and confer, upon whomsoever Thou desirest, by the majesty of the glory of Thy Face and Thy sublimity—and that Thou ordain the like thereof, for such as seek me for Thy sake and in Thy path.

Verily, Thou art the All-Generous, the All-Bountiful, the Munificent, the Lord of grace, the Bestower abounding in favour. Naught in the heavens nor on earth can frustrate Thee. Thou art the Manifest, the All-Subduing; the Hidden, the All-Glorious; the Most High, the All-Bestowing. Glorified art Thou! Thou art the Lord of might, far above all that they ascribe unto Thee.

And peace be upon the Messengers. And praise be to God, the Lord of all worlds.