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)