tion, and the Desire
of whosoever hath sought Thee, that, amidst Thy creatures, They resemble
the sun which no matter how often it riseth and setteth is still the one
and the same sun. Whoso maketh any distinction between any of Them hath
truly failed to attain the ultimate purpose, and to reach the highest
goal, and hath been deprived of the mysteries of unity and of the lights
of sanctity and oneness. I testify, moreover, that Thou hast decreed that
none on the face of the earth should equal Them, and none of Thy creatures
be able to be compared with any of Them, in order that Thine own
singleness and peerlessness might be recognized and established.

Glorified, immeasurably glorified be Thy name, O my God! How can I ever
befittingly mention Thee or sufficiently praise Thee, that Thou hast
manifested Him by the power of Thy might, and caused Him to shine above
the horizon of Thy will, and made Him the Day-Spring of Thy signs, and the
Dawning-Place of the revelation of Thy names and Thine attributes? How
bewilderingly mysterious, moreover, O my God, is His nature and all that
Thou hast infused into Him, through Thy strength and by the power of Thy
might! At one time He appeareth as the water which is Life indeed, sent
down out of the heaven of Thy grace, and poured forth from the clouds of
Thy mercy, that Thy creatures may be endued with new life, and live as
long as Thine own Kingdom endureth. Every drop of that water would suffice
to quicken the dead, and to set their faces in the direction of Thy favors
and Thy gifts, and to rid them of all attachment to aught else except
Thee. At another time He revealeth Himself as the Fire which Thou didst
kindle in the tree of Thy unity, whose heat melted the hearts of Thine
ardent lovers when He Who is the Day-Star of the world shone forth above
the horizon of 'Iraq. I testify, O my God, that through Him the veils of
human fancy were burnt up, and the hearts of men were set towards the
scene of Thy most resplendent glory.

I implore Thee, O Thou Who art the Supreme Ordainer, not to suffer me to
be deprived of the breezes which are wafted in Thy days, the days whereon
the sweet smell of the raiment of Thy mercy hath been shed abroad. Neither
do Thou keep me back from Thy most great Ocean, every drop of which crieth
out and saith: "Great is the blessedness that awaiteth him who hath been
awakened from his sleep by the breath of God which, from the source of His
mercy, hath blown