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In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
Glorified art Thou, O Lord! How can I make mention of Thee by my remembrance of Thee, or how can I praise Thee through my glorification of Thee? For the loftiest heights to which Thy sincere servants can ascend, and the most elevated stations which those who profess Thy oneness among Thy chosen ones can reach, are but created by Thy command, brought into being by Thy creation, and realized through Thy bounty.
Glorified art Thou, O Lord, above every remembrance! I desire to make mention of Thee, for Thou hast ever existed while nothing else existed beside Thee, and Thou wilt continue to exist just as Thou hast always been, with none beside Thee or near Thee.
Glorified art Thou, O Lord! Thou hast ever been the One God, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsisting, the Single, the Independent. Thou hast taken neither consort nor offspring, nor hath Thy Being been joined with anything in Thy dominion. For Thou wert living when there was no life, and living after every life, and living when there was no life except Thine own. Thou hast created what Thou willest without creation and brought into being what Thou desirest without invention.
Thou hast ever been manifest in the kingdom of Thy earth and heaven, and supreme over all the manifestations of Thy signs. If I say that Thou art Thou, then verily I have testified that Thy Being cannot be known except through Itself, cannot be unified except through Itself, cannot be mentioned except through Itself, and Its oneness cannot be proven through Its creation.
Glorified art Thou, O Lord, with the truest glorification—a glorification wherewith none of Thy creation hath ever glorified Thee, nor will any of Thy servants ever glorify Thee. Rather, it is the glorification wherewith Thou hast glorified Thine Own Essence, magnified Thine Own Being, exalted Thine Own Self, sanctified Thine Own Identity, and praised Thine Own Greatness. It is a glorification purified from the mention of similitudes and likenesses, and sanctified from the mention of names and attributes.
It is a glorification wherewith Thou art well-pleased with all created things, and wherewith Thou fillest the Throne with the light of Thy countenance, and the Seat with the splendor of Thy face, and the highest heavens with the manifestation of Thy mercy, and Paradise and what Thou hast created therein with the wonders of Thy gift, and the fire and what Thou hast created therein with the revelations of Thy might, that Thou mayest deliver its people therefrom and bring them to the station Thou hast ordained for them, and the earth and those upon it with the wonders of Thy mercy, that Thou mayest purify it and those upon it until there remain not in Thy knowledge anything except that which prostrateth itself before Thee alone, Who hath no partner, being assured of Thy oneness, believing in the sovereignty of Thy greatness, glorifying Thy Being, and content with what Thou hast ordained of the manifestations of Thy Will.
It is a glorification whereby Thou dost raise the people of unity to the ultimate horizon of detachment and attract the people of truth to the source of joy in the heights of uniqueness—a glorification wherewith none hath ever glorified Thee before and none shall ever glorify Thee hereafter—a glorification which is a sign of the sovereignty of Thy oneness, and the countenance of the King of Thy singleness, and the dawning-place of the suns of Thy unity, which pointeth unto Thee alone, there is no God but Thee, the Creator of all things and their Originator, the Ordainer of all things and their Fashioner, the Founder of all things and their Reckoner, the Sustainer of all things and their Exalter.
It is a glorification wherewith Thou art well-pleased with all things, and dost forgive all things, and return all things to the point from which they emerged, pure, manifest, and purified as they began—a glorification wherewith Thou art well-pleased with Thyself and dost send down mercy upon all the people of Thy kingdom, and dost make all things like unto a mountain of ruby in the sign of Thy unity, which was alive through Thy remembrance from before and after, that there is none other God but Thee. Glorified art Thou, O my God! I testify, and all the dwellers of Thy heavens and the inhabitants of Thy earth testify, and all that Thou hast created and wilt create, and all that Thy knowledge encompasseth, that shouldst Thou punish me for my glorification of Thee with what Thou art able to ordain in creation, it would be little compared to what I truly deserve before the court of Thy sovereign might and the dominion of Thy power.
Yet the decree is from Thee otherwise, and Thy judgment is far above this, for Thou hast ordained for those who glorify Thee and prescribed for those who recognize Thy unity that they shall behold Paradise, abiding therein through Thy eternity and ascending through the wondrous lights thereof, where there is no end, no termination, no exhaustion and no decline, for it hath been established through the manifestation of Thy generosity and confirmed through the emergence of Thy grace and mercy.
Glorified art Thou, O my God! Make all names manifestations of the names of Thy greatness, Thy grandeur, Thy loftiness, Thy nearness and Thy bounty, for the letter Y’ hath become heavy upon me. O my God, make the letter A’ alone indicate Thee and point to Thee alone. There is no God but Thee.
Glorified art Thou, O my God! I am certain that the Most Merciful is with Thee a creation that will not change, and what preceded it with Thee is a creation that will not alter. For all there is a term, a book, and a portion from Thee according to what Thou hast ordained in the Mother Book. Praise be unto Thee for all that Thou hast originated, brought into being, invented, caused to exist, created and wilt create—praise that equals Thy glorification and matches the creation of all things as Thou hast created them for Thy unity. Praise that hath no equal in the kingdom of Thy heaven and earth, nor any likeness among all the manifestations of Thy names and examples.
Praise through which the unity-believers ascend to the highest summit of detachment. Praise through which the sincere ones soar to the ultimate peak of inaccessibility. Praise which Thou alone deserveth, none other than Thee. Praise whose true measure Thou alone knowest, none of Thy creation. Praise through which the manifestation of the wonders of Thy mercy never changes in any way, and the pillars of all things are filled with the appearance of Thy countenance, such that none is seen except Thee, manifest above all things and hidden beneath all things, living before all things and enduring after all things. Praise wherewith Thou hast praised Thine Essence and established it with Thee through the sovereignty of Thy oneness. Praise that filleth the reality of all things with Thy unity and causeth them to speak in remembrance of Thy glorification, and the conditions of all things through the revelations of Thy names and attributes, all that Thy knowledge encompasseth.
Praise that no praise before it equals and no praise after it matches, indicating Thy greatness and pointing to Thy grandeur, steadfast before the throne of Thy singleness, unaltered by anything as Thou hast preserved it through the sovereignty of Thy mercy.
Glorified art Thou, O my God, and exalted with true glorification! Glorified art Thou, O my God, and sanctified with true praise! Glorified art Thou, O my God, and exalted with true transcendence! Glorified art Thou, O my God, and hallowed with true glorification! Glorified art Thou, O my God, before that and after that and with that and above that! Blessed is he who glorifieth Thee with Thine own Self’s glorification of Thy Self, and magnifieth Thee with Thine own Essence’s magnification of Thy Essence, and recognizeth Thy unity as Thou hast recognized the unity of Thine Essence. Glorified art Thou, there is no God but Thee! I seek Thy forgiveness for all whereby I have glorified Thee, and I turn in repentance unto Thee for all that I have praised, for verily I know it not, nor can I know it, nor have I ascended or can ascend, nor have I risen or can rise.
This befits not the sovereignty of Your singleness and is null and void before the dominion of Your Self-Subsistence. Glorified art Thou, O my God, above all this, and before this, and after this. I desire not to glorify Thee save through that wherewith Thou hast glorified Thine own Self, and I desire not to praise Thee save through that wherewith Thou hast praised Thine own Essence. For verily, whatsoever proceedeth from the realities of all created things and appeareth from the essences of all beings is that which beareth witness that sovereignty revolveth around His Own Self, and all that hath been created through His Command speaketh of that which God hath ordained in the inmost reality of the manifestations of His glory.
Glorified art Thou, O my God, with a glorification beyond every glorification that hath been encompassed by Thy knowledge, and with a praise transcending every praise that hath been witnessed by Thy power. I verily confess unto Thee, in this supreme ordeal and most exalted extremity, that I have not truly glorified Thee, nor can I ever glorify Thee, and I have not praised Thee, nor can I ever extol Thee. Rather, according to this my wretchedness and poverty, have I glorified Thee, being well assured that it befitteth not Thy sacred threshold, and acknowledging that it is unworthy of Thy sovereign justice. Wherefore accept Thou, O my God, from this one who is as nothing, that which abideth with Thee through Thine eternity and that which standeth established before Thy throne through the manifestation of Thy perfection.
Glorified art Thou, O my God! This is the sum of my praise in my utter powerlessness to glorify Thee, and this is the utmost height of my ascent in my station of praise for that wherewith Thou hast praised Thyself in the sublimity of Thy glorification. Glorified art Thou, O my God, above all this, and I seek Thy forgiveness for all that came before, and I shall surely turn unto Thee for all that cometh after. Grant me, O my God, the recompense of that wherewith Thou hast glorified Thyself, not that wherewith I have glorified Thee or could glorify Thee, nor that wherewith anyone besides Thee could glorify Thee; and grant me that which Thou hast reckoned in the glorification of Thine Essence, not that wherewith I have praised Thee or could praise Thee, nor that wherewith anyone besides Thee could praise Thee. Glorified art Thou, O my God, by Thy might, and glorified art Thou, O my God, by Thy grandeur, and glorified art Thou, O my God, by the dominion of Thy singleness, and glorified art Thou, O my God, by that wherewith Thou hast described Thyself through Thine attributes and the manifestation of the signs of Thy Lordship.
Thou art indeed sanctified above every description and praise, and exalted above every mention and glory. If this be the summit of my ascent to the pinnacle of detachment through the manifestation of my glorification of Thee, and the ultimate height of my rising to the source of unapproachability through the manifestation of my praise of Thee, then how shall I soar on these two wings through the manifestation of Thy oneness? Glorified art Thou! There is none other God but Thee! Glorified art Thou! I am of them that proclaim Thy unity. Glorified art Thou! There is none other God but Thee! Glorified art Thou! I am of them that extol Thy praise. Glorified art Thou! There is none other God but Thee! Glorified art Thou! I am of them that remember Thee. Glorified art Thou! There is none other God but Thee! Glorified art Thou! I am of them that render thanks unto Thee. Glorified art Thou! There is none other God but Thee! Glorified art Thou! I am of them that worship Thee. Glorified art Thou! There is none other God but Thee! Glorified art Thou! I am of them that seek Thy forgiveness. Glorified art Thou! There is none other God but Thee! Glorified art Thou! I am of them that turn unto Thee in repentance.
Glorified art Thou, O my God! Deal with me according to that which beseemeth Thee through Thy grace, Thy mercy, Thy generosity, Thy munificence, Thy bounty, and through that which Thou art in Thy names and attributes. Deal not with me according to that which beseemeth me, for verily Thou art the Lord of righteousness and the Lord of forgiveness. I verily seek Thy forgiveness and turn in repentance unto Thee for all that hath been attributed unto me. Transform it, O my God, into that which is attributed unto Thyself, for Thou art, in truth, the Most Merciful of the merciful. Glorified be Thy Lord, the Lord of Glory, above that which they attribute unto Him. And peace be upon the Messengers. And praise be to God, the Lord of all the worlds.