In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
All praise be unto God Who was Ever-Existent ere created
things were called into being, when there was no one else besides Him. He is
the One Who hath been Ever-Abiding while no element of His creation did yet
exist. Indeed the souls of them that are endued with understanding fail to
comprehend the least manifestation of His attributes, and the minds of those
who have acknowledged His unity are unable to perceive the most insignificant
token of His omnipotence.
Sanctified art Thou, O Lord my God. The tongues of men fall
short in extolling Thy glorious handiwork, how much more then would they falter
in lauding the majesty of Thy transcendent power; and since human understanding
is sore perplexed to fathom the mystery of a single object of Thy creation, how
can anyone ever attain the recognition of Thine Own Being?
I have known Thee by Thy making known unto me that Thou art
unknowable to anyone save Thyself. I have become apprised by the creation Thou
hast fashioned out of sheer non-existence that the way to attain the
comprehension of Thine Essence is barred to everyone. Thou art God, besides
Whom there is none other God. No one except Thine Own Self can comprehend Thy
nature. Thou art without peer or partner. From everlasting Thou hast been alone
with no one else besides Thee and unto everlasting Thou wilt continue to be the
same, while no created thing shall ever approach Thine exalted position.
All men, O my God, confess their powerlessness to know Thee
as Thou knowest Thine Own Being; the generative impulse Thou hast released is
manifest throughout the entire creation, and all created things which Thou hast
fashioned are but expressions of Thy wondrous signs.
Magnified be Thy name; Thou art immeasurably exalted above the strivings of
anyone among Thy creatures to attain Thy recognition as is befitting and worthy
of Thee.
Praise be unto Thee! The way in which Thou hast called into
being Thy creation out of non-existence preventeth all created things from
recognizing Thee, and the manner in which Thou hast fashioned the creatures,
with the limitations imposed upon them, proclaimeth their utter nothingness
before the revelations of Thine attributes.
- The Báb (‘Selections from the
Writings of the Báb’)
