eth, and all the company of His trusted ones
testify, that this Wronged One hath, at all times, been faced with dire
peril. But for the tribulations that have touched Me in the path of God,
life would have held no sweetness for Me, and My existence would have
profited Me nothing. For them who are endued with discernment, and whose
eyes are fixed upon the Sublime Vision, it is no secret that I have been,
most of the days of My life, even as a slave, sitting under a sword
hanging on a thread, knowing not whether it would fall soon or late upon
him. And yet, notwithstanding all this We render thanks unto God, the Lord
of the worlds. Mine inner tongue reciteth, in the daytime and in the
night-season, this prayer: "Glory to Thee, O my God! But for the
tribulations which are sustained in Thy path, how could Thy true lovers be
recognized; and were it not for the trials which are borne for love of
Thee, how could the station of such as yearn for Thee be revealed? Thy
might beareth Me witness! The companions of all who adore Thee are the
tears they shed, and the comforters of such as seek Thee are the groans
they utter, and the food of them who haste to meet Thee is the fragments
of their broken hearts. How sweet to my taste is the bitterness of death
suffered in Thy path, and how precious in my estimation are the shafts of
Thine enemies when encountered for the sake of the exaltation of Thy Word!
Let me quaff in Thy Cause, O my God and my Master, whatsoever Thou didst
desire, and send down upon me in Thy love all Thou didst ordain. By Thy
glory! I wish only what Thou wishest, and cherish what Thou cherishest. In
Thee have I, at all times, placed My whole trust and confidence. Thou art
verily the All-Possessing, the Most High. Raise up, I implore Thee, O my
God, as helpers to this Revelation such as shall be counted worthy of Thy
Name and of Thy sovereignty, that they may remember Thee among Thy
creatures, and hoist the ensigns of Thy victory in Thy land, and adorn
them with Thy virtues and Thy commandments. No God is there but Thee, the
Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting."

Thereupon the voice of the true Faith was lifted up, calling aloud again
and again and saying: "O concourse of the earth! By God! I am the true
Faith of God amongst you. Beware that ye deny Me not. God hath manifested
Me with a light that hath encompassed all that are in the heavens and all
that are on earth. Judge ye equitably, O people, My manifestation, and