hee, and my Haven and
the Haven of whosoever hath repaired unto Thee, and my Goal and the Goal
of all them that have set themselves towards Thee, and my Object and the
Object of those who have fixed their gaze upon Thee, and my Paradise and
the Paradise of them that have ascended towards Thee, and my Lode-star and
the Lode-star of all such as yearn after Thee, and my Joy and the Joy of
all them that love Thee, and my Light and the Light of all such as have
erred and asked to be forgiven by Thee, and my Exultation and the
Exultation of all them that remember Thee, and my Stronghold and the
Stronghold of all such as have fled to Thee, and my Sanctuary and the
Sanctuary of all that dread Thee, and my Lord and the Lord of all such as
dwell in the heavens and on the earth!

Unto Thee be praise for that Thou hast enraptured me by the sweetness of
Thine utterances, and set me towards the horizon above which the splendors
of the Day-Star of Thy face have shone, and caused me to turn unto Thee at
a time when most of Thy creatures had broken off from Thee.

Thou art He, O my God, Who hath unlocked the gate of heaven with the key
of Thy Name, the Ever-Blessed, the All-Powerful, the All-Glorious, the
Most Great, and hast summoned all mankind to the ocean of Thy presence. No
sooner had Thy most sweet voice been raised, than all the inmates of the
Kingdom of Names and the Concourse on high were stirred up. By Thy call
the fragrance of the raiment of Thy Revelation was wafted over such of Thy
creatures as have loved Thee, and such of Thy people as have yearned
towards Thee. They rose up and rushed forth to attain the Ocean of Thy
meeting, and the Horizon of Thy beauty, and the Tabernacle of Thy
Revelation and Thy majesty, and the Sanctuary of Thy Presence and Thy
glory. They were so inebriated with the wine of their reunion with Thee,
that they rid themselves of all attachment to whatever they themselves and
others possessed.

These are Thy servants whom the ascendancy of the oppressor hath failed to
deter from fixing their eyes on the Tabernacle of Thy majesty, and whom
the hosts of tyranny have been powerless to affright and divert their gaze
from the Day-Spring of Thy signs and the Dawning-Place of Thy testimonies.

I swear by Thy glory, O Thou the Lord of all being and the Enlightener of
all things visible and invisible! Whoso hath quaffed from the hands of Thy
bounteousness the living waters of Thy love will never allow the thi