h no desire in the face of Thy
desire. By Thy grace I am, at all times, ready to serve Thee and am rid of
all attachment to any one except Thee.

What I desire, however, O my God, is that Thou shouldst bid me unveil the
things which lie hid in Thy knowledge, so that they who are wholly devoted
to Thee may, in their longing for Thee, soar up into the atmosphere of Thy
oneness, and the infidels may be seized with trembling and may return to
the nethermost fire, the abode ordained for them by Thee through the power
of Thy sovereign might.

Thou dost consider, O my Lord, how Thy dear ones are sore pressed by Thine
enemies, and hearest from all sides their sighing by reason of what hath
befallen them in Thy path. Thou knowest, O my Lord, that their one desire
was to seek Thy face, and that the sole Object of their adoration was
Thee. They who wronged them had no other purpose except to turn them away
from Thee, and to extinguish the fire which Thou hadst kindled with the
hands of Thine almighty power.

Unseal the lips of Thy will, O my Lord, and let a word proceed therefrom
that shall subject unto itself the world and all that is therein. How long
shalt Thou behold these things and tarry, O my God? Darkness hath
enveloped the whole earth, and Thy tokens are ready to be blotted out
throughout Thy realm.

Forgive me, O my God, for what I have spoken, for Thou art the One that
knoweth all things, and in Thee are wrapped up the secrets that are hid
from all else except Thyself. When Thy promise shall come to pass, Thou
wilt manifest what Thou wilt, and subdue as Thou pleasest. We should wish
only what Thou hast wished for us. In Thee is the knowledge of all things,
and with Thee is the issue of all things. Thou art, verily, the Truth, the
Knower of things unseen.

Forgive me, then, my sins and the sins of them that love me, and supply
them with the good of this world and of the next.

Thou art, verily, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.

CXI: "PRAISED BE THOU, O MY GOD! THOU BEHOLDEST BOTH..."

Praised be Thou, O my God! Thou beholdest both the helplessness of Thy
dear ones and the ascendancy of Thy foes, both the wretchedness of Thy
chosen ones and the glory of them who gainsaid Thy Cause and repudiated
Thy signs. The latter deny Thy tokens, and fail to repay Thee for the
temporal benefits Thou didst bestow upon them, while the former yield Thee
thanks for what hath befallen them in their eagerness to