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CXLII: I swear by the beauty of the Well-Beloved!
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1 |
I swear by the beauty of the Well-Beloved! This is the Mercy that hath encompassed the entire
creation, the Day whereon the grace of God hath
permeated and pervaded all things. The living waters
of My mercy, O `Alí, are fast pouring down, and
Mine heart is melting with the heat of My tenderness
and love. At no time have I been able to reconcile
Myself to the afflictions befalling My loved ones,
or to any trouble that could becloud the joy of their
hearts. |
2 |
Every time My name "the All-Merciful" was told
that one of My lovers had breathed a word that
runneth counter to My wish, it repaired, grief-stricken
and disconsolate to its abode; and whenever
My name "the Concealer" discovered that one of My
followers had inflicted any shame or humiliation on
his neighbor, it, likewise, turned back chagrined and
sorrowful to its retreats of glory, and there wept and
mourned with a sore lamentation. And whenever My
name "the Ever-Forgiving" perceived that any one
of My friends had committed any transgression, it
cried out in its great distress, and, overcome with
anguish, fell upon the dust, and was borne away by
a company of the invisible angels to its habitation
in the realms above. |
3 |
By Myself, the True One, O `Alí! The fire that
hath inflamed the heart of Bahá is fiercer than the
fire that gloweth in thine heart, and His lamentation
louder than thy lamentation. Every time the sin committed
by any one amongst them was breathed in the
Court of His Presence, the Ancient Beauty would be
so filled with shame as to wish He could hide the
glory of His countenance from the eyes of all men,
for He hath, at all times, fixed His gaze on their
fidelity, and observed its essential requisites. |
4 |
The words thou hadst written have, as soon as they
were read in My Presence, caused the ocean of My
fidelity to surge within Me, and the breeze of My
forgiveness to be wafted over thy soul, and the tree
of My loving-kindness to overshadow thee, and the
clouds of My bounty to rain down upon thee their
gifts. I swear by the Day Star that shineth above
the horizon of eternity, I sorrow for thee in thy
grief, and lament with thee in thy tribulation....
I bear witness to the services thou hast rendered Me,
and testify to the various troubles thou hast sustained
for My sake. All the atoms of the earth declare My
love for thee. |
5 |
The call thou didst raise, O `Alí, is highly acceptable
in My sight. Proclaim with both thy pen and
tongue My Cause. Cry out and summon the people
to Him Who is the Sovereign Lord of all worlds, with
such zeal and fervor that all men may be set on fire
by thee. |
6 |
Say: O my Lord, my Best-Beloved, the Mover of
my actions, the Lode Star of my soul, the Voice that
crieth in mine inmost being, the Object of mine
heart's adoration! Praise be to Thee for having enabled
me to turn my face towards Thee, for having
set my soul ablaze through remembrance of Thee,
for having aided Me to proclaim Thy Name and to
sing Thy praises. |
7 |
My God, my God! If none be found to stray from
Thy path, how, then, can the ensign of Thy mercy
be unfurled, or the banner of Thy bountiful favor
be hoisted? And if iniquity be not committed, what
is it that can proclaim Thee to be the Concealer of
men's sins, the Ever-Forgiving, the Omniscient, the
All-Wise? May my soul be a sacrifice to the trespasses
of them that trespass against Thee, for upon such
trespasses are wafted the sweet savors of the tender
mercies of Thy Name, the Compassionate, the All-Merciful.
May my life be laid down for the transgressions
of such as transgress against Thee, for
through them the breath of Thy grace and the fragrance
of Thy loving-kindness are made known and
diffused amongst men. May my inmost being be
offered up for the sins of them that have sinned
against Thee, for it is as a result of such sins that the
Day Star of Thy manifold favors revealeth itself
above the horizon of Thy bounty, and the clouds of
Thy never-failing providence rain down their gifts
upon the realities of all created things. |
8 |
I am he, O my Lord, that hath confessed to Thee
the multitude of his evil doings, that hath acknowledged
what no man hath acknowledged. I have made
haste to attain unto the ocean of Thy forgiveness,
and have sought shelter beneath the shadow of Thy
most gracious favor. Grant, I beseech Thee, O Thou
Who art the Everlasting King and the Sovereign Protector
of all men, that I may be enabled to manifest
that which shall cause the hearts and souls of men to
soar in the limitless immensity of Thy love, and to
commune with Thy Spirit. Strengthen me through
the power of Thy sovereignty, that I may turn all
created things towards the Day Spring of Thy Manifestation
and the Source of Thy Revelation. Aid me,
O my Lord, to surrender myself wholly to Thy Will,
and to arise and serve Thee, for I cherish this earthly
life for no other purpose than to compass the Tabernacle
of Thy Revelation and the Seat of Thy Glory.
Thou seest me, O my God, detached from all else but
Thee, and humble and subservient to Thy Will. Deal
with me as it beseemeth Thee, and as it befitteth Thy
highness and great glory. |
9 |
O `Alí! The bounty of Him Who is the Lord of
all worlds hath been, and is still being, vouchsafed
unto thee. Arm thyself with His strength and power,
and arise to aid His Cause and to magnify His holy
name. Let not thine ignorance in human learning and
thy inability to read or write grieve thine heart. The
doors of His manifold grace are within the mighty
grasp of the power of the one true God. He hath
opened, and will continue to open, them in the face
of all them that serve Him. I fain would hope that
this breeze of Divine sweetness will, at all times, continue
to be wafted from the meadow of thine heart
upon the whole world, in such wise that its effects
may be manifested in every land. He it is that hath
power over all things. He, verily, is the Most Powerful,
the All-Glorious, the Almighty. |
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