, let him say:

Disappoint not, O my God, him that hath, with beseeching fingers, clung to
the hem of Thy mercy and Thy grace, O Thou Who of those who show mercy art
the Most Merciful!

Let him, then, be seated and say:

I bear witness to Thy unity and Thy oneness, and that Thou art God, and
that there is none other God beside Thee. Thou hast, verily, revealed Thy
Cause, fulfilled Thy Covenant, and opened wide the door of Thy grace to
all that dwell in heaven and on earth. Blessing and peace, salutation and
glory, rest upon Thy loved ones, whom the changes and chances of the world
have not deterred from turning unto Thee, and who have given their all, in
the hope of obtaining that which is with Thee. Thou art, in truth, the
Ever-Forgiving, the All-Bountiful.

(If anyone choose to recite instead of the long verse these words: "God
testifieth that there is none other God but Him, the Help in Peril, the
Self-Subsisting," it would be sufficient. And likewise, it would suffice
were he, while seated, to choose to recite these words: "I bear witness to
Thy unity and Thy oneness, and that Thou art God, and that there is none
other God beside Thee.")

--Baha'u'llah

LONG OBLIGATORY PRAYER

_TO BE RECITED ONCE IN TWENTY-FOUR HOURS_

Whoso wisheth to recite this prayer, let him stand up and turn unto God,
and, as he standeth in his place, let him gaze to the right and to the
left, as if awaiting the mercy of his Lord, the Most Merciful, the
Compassionate. Then let him say:

O Thou Who art the Lord of all names and the Maker of the heavens! I
beseech Thee by them Who are the Daysprings of Thine invisible Essence,
the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious, to make of my prayer a fire that will
burn away the veils which have shut me out from Thy beauty, and a light
that will lead me unto the ocean of Thy Presence.

Let him then raise his hands in supplication toward God--blessed and
exalted be He--and say:

O Thou the Desire of the world and the Beloved of the nations! Thou seest
me turning toward Thee, and rid of all attachment to anyone save Thee, and
clinging to Thy cord, through whose movement the whole creation hath been
stirred up. I am Thy servant, O my Lord, and the son of Thy servant.
Behold me standing ready to do Thy will and Thy desire, and wishing naught
else except Thy good pleasure. I implore Thee by the Ocean of Thy mercy
and the Daystar of Thy grace to do with Thy servant as Thou willest