BB00682: Kitabu’l-Taqavi

The Book of Piety, dwelling in the Exalted Land, for the noble Scribe of the Post

In the Name of God, the Most Powerful, the Most Holy.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! I bear witness unto Thee—and unto all things—that Thou art God; there is no God but Thee, the One, without peer or partner. Thine is the kingdom and the dominion; Thine is the might and the majesty; Thine is the power and the sapphire glory; Thine is the sovereignty and the world of man; Thine is the grandeur and the glory; Thine is the countenance and perfection; Thine is the direction and beauty; Thine is the mercy and bounty; Thine is the dominion and justice; Thine is the likeness and the exemplars; Thine is the station and the exaltation; Thine is the glory and the inaccessibility; Thine is the loftiness and the elevation; Thine is the sovereignty and the independence; Thine is the greatness and the transcendent majesty.

Thou hast ever been One, Self-subsistent, Peerless, Living, Eternal, Just, Holy, Abiding, Everlasting, Self-dependent, and All-Glorious. Thou hast taken unto Thyself neither consort nor son. Thou hast ever quickened and caused to die, then caused to die and quickened again. Verily, Thou art the Living One Who dieth not, the King Whose dominion perisheth not, the Judge Who dealeth not unjustly, the Sovereign Whose power is unchanging, the Peerless Who escapeth not aught from His grasp—neither in the heavens nor in the earth, nor in whatsoever lieth between them. By Thy command Thou createst whatsoever Thou willest, for Thou art, in truth, potent over all things.

Thou hast ever been existent before all things, the Reality above all things, the Being after all things, the Creator with all things, the Fashioner beyond all things. Thou hast created me, provided for me, caused me to die, and raised me to life. Thou hast sent down upon me Thy words, exalted me through Thy manifestations, conferred upon me Thy signs, and lifted me up unto Thee. Thou hast drawn me near in Thy supreme bounty—how resplendent Thy beauty, how pure Thy light, how hidden Thy loftiness! I bear witness before Thee that every object of worship from above Thy throne to beneath Thy earth is false, and that naught is real save Thee, the One, the Incomparable. Exalted art Thou beyond the reach of vision, and beyond the grasp of the imaginings of men! There is no God but Thee, the One, the All-Manifest.

I bear witness before Thee concerning him who is recorded in the Book, that he hath conveyed that which he bore from Thy servant upon whom Thou didst send down Thy verses and exalt by Thy words to a station no soul could reach save by Thy leave. Thou didst lay no burden upon him beyond what Thou hadst decreed, for Thou hast ever been praised in Thy deeds and sought in Thy exalted station.

He who hath been mentioned hath made himself as one with those who believed in Thy guardianship—how great the bounty of this for him who hath known Thee and discerned the worth of Thy names! How sublime the grace of this for him who hath found Thee and desired Thy likenesses! Do Thou, O my God, recompense him for every atom’s weight according to the height of Thy bounty and the sublimity of Thy grace. Empty then his heart of all desire save Thy wondrous command, for exaltation is for him who is content with Thee alone, and the hidden act is for him who hath known Thee and found Thee in Thy Manifestation.

I know of no bounty above this, nor of any justice beneath it. Though a man be given dominion over all the earth, it availeth him naught without knowledge of Thee and the vision of Thy countenance. Yet if he possess naught but know Thee and follow what Thou hast revealed through Thy Proof, that shall suffice him, for all else is transient contingency. True wealth is knowledge of Thee, of Thy signs, and steadfastness beneath the shadow of Thy love and glory. Inspire him, O my God, with what he desireth of Thy bounty and grace; gladden his eyes with what Thou lovest and approvest from Thy presence; and send down upon him, in place of what he hath offered in Thy path, whatsoever Thou willest, howsoever Thou willest, wheresoever Thou willest, and by whatsoever Thou willest—for Thou art the Omnipotent, the All-Sufficient, the Most Exalted.

Even as Thou hast created all things from naught, so shalt Thou create whatsoever Thou wilt from naught. Glorified art Thou! There is no God but Thee. Glorified art Thou—I am indeed of them that remember Thee.

And if he desire a home, Thou art too exalted to withhold him from Thy good-pleasure; and if he desire aught beneath that, then guard him, O my God, from before and behind, from his right and his left, from above his head and beneath his feet, upon a land which Thou hast set apart for Thy chosen ones and loved for Thy witnesses. Verily, Thou art the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

If what he desireth first be mentioned before Thee, Thou knowest, O my God, that this is of what no servant can dispense with. And if he desire the third, bring it nigh unto him; but if Thou sever him from it, as was the custom of Thy beloved and Thy chosen ones of old, that is nearer to silence and higher than disclosure. For none of Thy creatures is independent of Thee; shouldst Thou but manifest Thy grace, Thou wouldst perfect all that is meet from Thy presence; otherwise, none attaineth save by what Thou ordainest. The tokens of Thy bounty shine forth self-subsistent, and the evidences of Thy grace beam forth luminous and radiant.

There is no power nor strength save in Thee. Thou art sufficient for me; on Thee do I rely; and upon Thee let Thy faithful servants put their trust. Send Thou, O my God, Thy blessings upon Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest, with all the glory of Thy beauty, the majesty of Thy greatness, the perfection of Thy loveliness, the grandeur of Thy might, the light of Thy mercy, the completeness of Thy words, the power of Thy names, the splendor of Thy might, the efficacy of Thy will, the reach of Thy knowledge, the potency of Thy power, the good-pleasure of Thy decree, the nobility of Thy honor, the endurance of Thy sovereignty, the excellence of Thy dominion, the loftiness of Thy station, and all that Thou possessest of bounty, grace, and beneficence, and Thine eternity without beginning.

Thou art the Peerless, the Inaccessible, the Single, the Most Exalted. Thou hast been magnified above all things by Thy greatness, and hast made all Thy servants independent through the sufficiency of Thine eternal wealth. Ordain then, O my God, for him whom Thou hast admitted into Thy Paradise, that he may enter into the Manifestation of Him Whom Thou shalt make manifest on the Day of Resurrection, through the signs of Thy power, that the fruits of that Paradise which Thou hast created may be revealed on the Day when all shall be presented before Thee, in Thy most exalted Paradise and Thy most glorious Manifestations. For Thou art my Lord and the Lord of the hereafter and of this world alike.

And if he desire the Land of Knowledge, establish him there that he may abide in serenity if Thou willest it for him; otherwise, ordain for him what is best in this world and in the next, for Thou art the All-Knowing from of old, the All-Powerful, the Mighty, the Sanctified, the All-Exalted. Thine are the creation and the command, before all things and after all things.

There is no God but Thee. Glorified art Thou! Verily, I am of those who remember Thee.