Glory be unto Thee, O my God! I supplicate unto Thee, O Thou my Helper! I invoke Thee, O Thou my Refuge! I utter to Thee my agonies, O Thou my Physician, and entreat Thee with all my heart, my soul and my spirit, saying: O my God! O my God! Verily, the gloomy night hath fallen upon all regions and the clouds of ignorance have extended in all directions; the people are immersed in the darkness of surmise and the tyrants are sunk in the depths of brutality and lawlessness. The red glare of the burning fire is flashing forth from the netherworld, roaring, ominous voices are rising from the cruel, destructive and terrible armaments; every region is crying out with its dumb secret tongue: "Nothing that I possess hath benefited me and power and strength are taken away from me!" Verily, O my God, the lamps of guidance are extinguished; the fire of animosity is enkindled; wrath and antipathy are spread abroad and provocation and maliciousness are disseminated upon the face of the earth. Yet I see only Thy wronged followers who are crying at the tops of their voices and summoning the people:
Hasten ye toward affinity!
Hasten ye toward faithfulness!
Hasten ye toward generosity!
Hasten ye toward guidance!
Hasten ye toward union!
Hasten ye to behold the Light of the World!
Hasten ye toward love and prosperity!
Hasten ye toward peace and reconciliation!
Hasten ye toward the law of disarmament!
Hasten ye toward harmony and success!
Hasten ye toward cooperation and mutual help in the path of
guidance!
Verily, these wronged ones do sacrifice themselves with infinite joy and happiness for the sake of the people with all their souls and spirits throughout all regions. Verily, Thou beholdest them weeping at the misfortunes of every one of Thy creatures and becoming grieved at the distress of Thy children; they are kind to all the people and pained at the sight of the calamities of the inhabitants of the world. O my Lord! make the wings of prosperity to grow upon their shoulders, so that they may ever soar toward the apex of their aspirations; strengthen their loins in the service of Thy people, and confirm them in the thralldom and adoration of the threshold of Thy Holiness.
Verily, Thou art the Merciful! Thou art the Clement, and there is no God but Thee, the Powerful, the Compassionate, and the Ancient!
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Star of the West, vol. 4, no.1, March 21, 1913)
