position with that which words
can never hope to exhaust, and to give thee to drink of the limitless
oceans from this cup. Thy Lord, verily, is the All-Bountiful and
unassailable in His power.

37 O Pen of the Ancient of Days! Call Thou to remembrance 'Ali,(71) he who
sojourned with Thee in 'Iraq until the Daystar of the world departed
therefrom. He forsook his home to attain the court of Thy presence at a
time when We were captive in the hands of such as have been deprived of
the sweet savours of the All-Merciful. Grieve not at what hath befallen Us
and thee in the path of God. Rest assured and persevere. He, verily,
rendereth victorious those who love Him, and His might is equal to all
things. Whoso turneth unto Him brighteneth thereby the faces of the
Concourse on high, and unto this God Himself is My witness.

38 Say: O people, do ye imagine that, after rejecting the One through Whom
the religions of the world have been made manifest, ye still bear
allegiance to the Faith of God? By the righteousness of God! Ye are
accounted among the inmates of the Fire. Thus hath the decree been
recorded in the Tablets by the Pen of God. Say: Never will the barking of
dogs deter the Nightingale from warbling its melodies. Ponder awhile that
perchance ye may discover a path leading to the Eternal Truth.

39 Say: Magnified art Thou, O Lord my God! I entreat Thee by the tears Thy
lovers have shed in their longing after Thee, and by the yearning of those
who cry out in their separation from Thee, and by Thy Best-Beloved Who
hath fallen into the hands of Thine adversaries, to graciously assist
those who have sought refuge beneath the sheltering wings of Thy favour
and loving-kindness, and who have yearned for no other Lord except Thee.

40 We have forsaken our homes, O Lord, in our eagerness to meet Thee and
in our longing to be united with Thee. We have traversed land and sea to
attain the court of Thy presence and to give ear to Thy verses. When we
arrived at the shores of the sea, however, we were held back from Thee, as
the ungodly intervened between us and the light of Thy countenance.

41 O Lord! Dire thirst hath seized us, and with Thee are the soft-flowing
waters of eternal life. Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. Deny us
not the object of our quest. Write down then for us the recompense decreed
for such of Thy servants as enjoy near access to Thee and are wholly
devoted to Thy will. Make us so steadfast in Thy love t