ou, O my God, that Thou hast been true to what the Pen of Thy
Revelation hath inscribed upon the Tablets sent down by Thee unto Them
Whom Thou hast chosen above all Thy creatures, and through Whom Thou hast
unlocked the doors of Thy mercy, and shed abroad the radiance of the light
of Thy guidance. Glory to Thee that Thou hast laid bare what had from
eternity been wrapped up within the Tabernacle of Thy majesty, Thine
omnipotence and glory, and through which Thou hadst decked forth the
heaven of Thy Revelation and adorned the pages of the book of Thy
testimony.

And when the Pledge was fulfilled and the Promised One appeared, He was
rejected by such of Thy servants as profess to have believed in Him in
Whom Thy Godhead was manifested, Whom Thou didst ordain to be the Herald
of this Revelation, and through Whose advent the eyes of the inmates of
the sanctuary of Thy unity were cheered.

I know, O my Lord, neither their reasoning with which they have
acknowledged Thee and believed in Thy signs, nor their argument whereby
they have repudiated Thy sovereignty. Every time I call them to Thee and
say: "O people! Consider the utterances of the Lord your God which are in
your possession and those that have been sent down from the heaven of His
will and power," they cavil at Thee, and turn their backs to Thee,
though--as Thou art aware--each of the words that have gone out of the mouth
of Thy will sheddeth the fragrance of the breaths of Thy mercy.

Some have chosen to cleave to him who is counted unworthy to converse with
any of Thy servants that watch at Thy door (Mirza Yahya), how much more to
enter into the court in which the Tongue of Thy majesty speaketh. Cleanse
Thou their hearts and their eyes, O my Lord, that they may see with their
eyes and understand with their hearts, that haply they may be attracted by
Thine utterances to the Day-Spring of Thine inspiration, and draw nigh
unto the soft-flowing stream of Thy knowledge.

Thou art He, O my Lord, Who hath, in every line of Thy Book, entered into
covenant with them for me, and made it so sure that none of Thy creatures
can any longer evade it. Thou didst say--and Thy word is the truth: "One
single letter from Him excelleth all that hath been sent down in the
Bayan."

Thou dost consider, therefore, O my God, how they have transgressed
against Thy Cause, and beholdest what their hands have wrought in Thy
days. They have so grievously wronged me that the Lote-Tree of Thy