Prayer before a meal

He then went to lunch. At the request of those present at the table the Master chanted the following prayer:

He is God! Thou seest us, O my God, gathered around this table, praising Thy bounty, with our gaze set upon Thy Kingdom. O Lord! Send down upon us Thy heavenly food and confer upon us Thy blessing. Thou art verily the Bestower, the Merciful, the Compassionate. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (October 14, 1912, Pleasanton, California; recorded by Mahmud Zarqani; Mahmud’s Diary)

Group – Forgiveness; Spiritual qualities; Admission to God’s Kingdom; Happiness; Illumination; Kindness; Assistance; Detachment; Service

O Thou kind Lord! These people have turned to Thee in prayer. With utmost humility and sincerity they have raised their voices to Thy Kingdom to beg Thy forgiveness.

O God! Make this assemblage noble and these persons holy. Enkindle the lights of guidance, illumine the hearts, bring joy to the souls, admit them into Thy Kingdom and enable them to attain felicity in both worlds.

O God! We are abased, glorify us; we are poor, make us rich from the treasury of Thy Kingdom; we are sick, grant us health; we are weak, give us power. O God, guide us to Thy good-pleasure and make us free from self and desire. O God, make us firm in Thy love and assist us to be kind to all creatures. Help us to render service to humanity so that we may serve all Thy servants, love all Thy creatures, be kind to all mankind. O God, verily Thou art the Powerful, the Merciful, the Forgiving and the Omnipotent. 

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha  (Revealed and chanted by ‘Abdu’l-Baha in Montreal, Canada, September 1, 1912; ‘Mahmud’s Diary’)

Prayer offered by ‘Abdu’l-Baha at the grave of Thornton Chase

Thornton Chase

O my God! O my God! Verily, this is a servant of Thine, who did believe on Thee and in Thy signs; verily he hearkened to Thy summons, turned to Thy Kingdom, humbled himself at Thy holy threshold, was possessed of a contrite heart, arose to serve Thy cause, to spread Thy fragrances, to promote Thy word, and to expound Thy wisdom.

Verily he guided the people to Thine ancient pathway, and led them to Thy way of rectitude. Verily he held the chalice of guidance in his right hand and gave unto those athirst to drink of the cup of favour. He presented himself at Thy lofty threshold, where he laid his brow on the fragrant soil of Thy garden and circumambulated Thy all-glorious and sublime abode, the traces of which are wide-spread and the fragrances of whose loyalty are sensed everywhere. Later he returned to these vast and extensive countries and proclaimed Thy Name amongst the people, until his respiration ceased and his outward sensation was suspended, returning to Thee with a heart throbbing with Thy love and with an eye opened to Thy direction.

O Lord! O Lord! Submerge him in the ocean of Thy glory. O Lord! O Lord! Usher him into Thy delectable garden. O Lord! O Lord! Usher him into Thy lofty paradise and cause him to be present in Thy meeting of transfiguration. O Lord! Submerge him in the ocean of Thy lights.

Verily, Thou art the Clement! Verily, Thou are the Merciful, the Precious, the Omnipotent! 
- 'Abdu'l-Baha  (Star of the West, vol.III, No. 13, November 4, 1912)

Humanity – Spiritual transformation

Cover the sins of the weak ones with the hem of the garment of Thy Mercy! Change the indifference of the heedless ones into the essence of fidelity, wisdom and understanding! Grant the souls a loftier effort and arouse another (spiritual) tumult in the minds so that they may sing the melody of the Supreme Realm, seek for a Glory Everlasting, long for the delicacies of the New World, soar toward the Brightest Horizon, enter the congregation of the Almighty and become the recipients of the bestowals of the Kingdom! Thus will the dark world become luminous, the satanic field transformed into the courts of the Merciful, the mound of earth become the mound of Heaven and the terrestrial globe the Eternal Rose garden. Verily, Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty, the Hearer, the Seer!

- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Star of the West, vol. 5, no. 11, September 27, 1914)