Thee, and rid me of all attachment to aught else except Thyself. Aid
me to do what Thou desirest, and to fulfill what Thou pleasest.

Thou art truly the Lord of this life and of the next. Thou art, in truth,
the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

XX: "LAUDED BE THY NAME, O THOU WHO BEHOLDEST ALL..."

Lauded be Thy name, O Thou Who beholdest all things and art hidden from
all things! From every land Thou hearest the lamentations of them that
love Thee, and from every direction Thou hearkenest unto the cries of such
as have recognized Thy sovereignty. Were their oppressors to be asked:
"Wherefore have ye oppressed them and held them in bondage in Ba_gh_dad
and elsewhere? What injustice have they committed? Whom have they
betrayed? Whose blood have they spilled, and whose property have they
plundered?" they would know not what to answer.

Thou knowest full well, O my God, that their only crime is to have loved
Thee. For this reason have their oppressors laid hold on them, and
scattered them abroad. Aware as I am, O my God, that Thou wilt send down
upon Thy servants only what is good for them, I nevertheless beseech Thee,
by Thy name which overshadoweth all things, to raise up, for their
assistance and as a sign of Thy grace and as an evidence of Thy power,
those who will keep them safe from all their adversaries.

Potent art Thou to do Thy pleasure. Thou art, verily, the Supreme Ruler,
the Almighty, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

XXI: "PRAISED BE THOU, O LORD MY GOD! I AM THY SERVANT..."

Praised be Thou, O Lord my God! I am Thy servant and the son of Thy
servant. I have set my face towards Thy Cause, believing in Thy oneness,
acknowledging Thy unity, recognizing Thy sovereignty and the power of Thy
might, and confessing the greatness of Thy majesty and glory. I ask Thee,
by Thy name through which the heaven was cleft asunder, and the earth was
rent in twain, and the mountains were crushed, not to withhold from me the
breezes of Thy mercy which have been wafted in Thy days, nor to suffer me
to be far removed from the shores of Thy nearness and bounty.

I am he who is sore athirst, O my Lord! Give me to drink of the living
waters of Thy grace. I am but a poor creature; reveal unto me the tokens
of Thy riches. Doth it beseem Thee to cast out of the door of Thy grace
and bounty such as have set their hopes on Thee, and can it befit Thy
sovereignty to hinder them that yearn after Thee from