O my Lord! I have drawn nigh unto Thee, in the depths of
this darksome night, confiding in Thee with the tongue of my heart, trembling
with joy at the sweet scents that blow from Thy realm, the All-Glorious,
calling unto Thee, saying:
O my Lord, no words do I find to glorify Thee; no way do I
see for the bird of my mind to soar upward to Thy Kingdom of Holiness; for
Thou, in Thy very essence, art sanctified above those tributes, and in Thy very
being art beyond the reach of those praises which are offered Thee by the
people that Thou hast created. In the sanctity of Thine own being hast Thou
ever been exalted above the understanding of the learned among the Company on
high, and forever wilt Thou remain enwrapped within the holiness of Thine own
reality, unreached by the knowledge of those dwellers in Thine exalted Kingdom
who glorify Thy Name.
O God, my God! How can I glorify or describe Thee
inaccessible as Thou art; immeasurably high and sanctified art Thou above every
description and praise.
O God, my God! Have mercy then upon my helpless state, my
poverty, my misery, my abasement! Give me to drink from the generous cup of Thy
grace and forgiveness, stir me with the sweet scents of Thy love, gladden my
bosom with the light of Thy knowledge, purify my soul with the mysteries of Thy
oneness, raise me to life with the gentle breeze that cometh from the gardens
of Thy mercy—till I sever myself from all else but Thee, and lay hold of the
hem of Thy garment of grandeur, and consign to oblivion all that is not Thee,
and be companioned by the sweet breathings that waft during these Thy days, and
attain unto faithfulness at Thy Threshold of Holiness, and arise to serve Thy
Cause, and to be humble before Thy loved ones, and, in the presence of Thy
favoured ones, to be nothingness itself.
Verily art Thou the Helper, the Sustainer, the Exalted, the
Most Generous.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha
(‘Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha)
