BB00057: Du’a’a’r-Rabi’ li’l-Avval

Part 1: “The Fourth Prayer…”

In the Name of God, the Most Unapproachable, the Most Holy

The Fourth Prayer:

Verily, the least that sufficeth the servant at the thrones of the Letters of the Unity, whether he be present before them or desireth to turn towards them in the station which God hath ordained for him, is that he should purify his body with the utmost refinement and cleanse his garments with the utmost purity, and take a ring upon his right hand. Then let him be seated and say:

Verily all glory most glorious is from God, the Lord of the Hereafter and of the first life, upon thee, O Point of the Bayan, at morn and eventide. And verily all majesty most sublime is from God and from all things upon thee, O Letter Sin, in the kingdom of earth and heaven, then at eve and at dawn. And verily all beauty most beauteous is from God, exalted and glorified be He, and from all things upon thee, O Letter Mim, in the watches of the night and the ends of the day.

And verily all grandeur is entirely from God and from all things upon thee, O Letter Alif, in the kingdom of might, then on the Day of Reckoning. And verily all lights are entirely from God and from all things upon thee, O Letter Lam, at eve and at dawn. And verily all mercy is entirely from God and from all things upon thee, O Letter Lam, at morn and eventide.

And verily all names are entirely from God and from all things upon thee, O Letter Ha, in the kingdom on high unto the lowest atom. And verily all glory is from God, exalted and glorified be He, and from all things upon thee, O Letter Alif, in the kingdom on high unto the lowest atom. And verily all power is from God, exalted and glorified be He, and from all things upon thee, O Letter Lam, in the Hereafter and in the first life.

And verily the most exalted light is from God, exalted and glorified be He, and from all things upon thee, O Letter Alif, in the kingdom on high unto the lowest atom. And verily the essences of knowledge from the Book of God and from all things are upon thee, O Letter Mim, at all times, then in the watches of the night and the ends of the day.

And verily all might is from God and from all things upon thee, O Letter Nun, from the highest peak unto the lowest atom in the kingdoms of the Hereafter and of the first life. And verily all loftiness is from God and from all things upon thee, O Letter ʿAyn, in whatsoever the name of anything is mentioned from the most high unto the lowest atom.

And verily all good-pleasure is from God, glorified and exalted be He, and from all things upon thee, O Letter Alif, in the Hereafter and in the first life. And verily all divine authority is from God, glorified and exalted be He, and from all things upon thee, O Letter Lam, in the kingdom on high and the lowest atom and whatsoever lieth between them unto what the Lord of the Hereafter and of the first life doth reckon.

And verily all love is from God, glorified and exalted be He, and from all things upon thee, O Letter Alif, at morning light then at the hour when the sun doth shine in the highest horizon. And verily all sovereignty is entirely from God, glorified and exalted be He, and from all things upon thee, O Letter Qaf, in the Hereafter and in the first life. And verily all dominion is from God, glorified and exalted be He, and from all things upon thee, O Letter Sin, in the kingdom on high, until it reacheth unto the lowliest atom, then in the hereafter and the former times.

Glory be unto Thee, O my God! Thou art the Lord of the heavens and of the earth and of whatsoever is between them, their Inspirer, their Ordainer, their Fashioner, their Creator, their Originator, and their Generator.

I testify, and all things testify, that there is none other God but Thee, alone with no partner. Thou wert One God, Single, Self-Subsisting, Ever-Living, Self-Sufficient, Eternal, Ever-Dependent. Thou hast taken neither consort nor son, and Thou hast no partner in sovereignty, nor any protector to act save by Thy leave.

I shall glorify Thee, praise Thee, proclaim Thy unity, magnify Thee, extol Thee, sanctify Thee, exalt Thee, and elevate Thee, and I shall testify before Thee as I hope to testify on the Day of Resurrection before the Point, the Manifestation of Thy Divinity, that there is none other God but Thee, alone with no partner. Thine is the sovereignty and Thine the praise. Thou givest life and causest death, then causest death and givest life, and verily Thou art the Ever-Living Who dieth not. Within Thy grasp is the kingdom of all things. Thou createst what Thou willest by Thy command, and Thou art powerful over all things.

And whatsoever is beneath Thee among all things by which the name of a thing created for Thee is mentioned, Thou hast created it from nothing by Thy command and established it from nothing by Thy sovereignty. Then Thou didst present Thy unity unto all things, and the first to accept it Thou didst make its essence Thy Paradise, wherein Thou didst create from the wonders of the arts of Thy Lordship that which attracteth all souls and spirits through Thy love.

And Thou didst make that essence a holy, transcendent, lofty, inaccessible, and mighty tree possessed of branches, leaves, and fruits which none save Thee hath encompassed in knowledge. Send down upon it, O my God, that which will elevate it morn and eve, will clothe it night and day, will strengthen it throughout the watches of the night and the hours of the day, will magnify it at dusk and dawn, and will sanctify it in the Kingdom on high unto the lowliest atom until the matter endeth with Thee on the Day of Reckoning, for that tree hath prostrated itself before Thee, hath submitted, hath shown humility, hath yielded, and hath surrendered to that which Thou hast sent down upon it.

Send down upon it, O my God, every good thing which Thy knowledge hath encompassed, and magnify it, O my God, through Thy might and glory and power and strength and sovereignty and supremacy over all things, from that which Thou lovest not for it and which grieveth its soul. Verily, Thou art powerful and mighty over all that.

Cause to grow, O my God, its branches and leaves and fruits in every less than nineteen nineteen ten moment with the growth of a thousand years, and raise it unto what is possible in the kingdom of Thy power and might, that Thou mayest crown unto Thyself a simple essence and a treasured [jewel] and a pure, pristine, beloved entity and a camphorated, hidden being, for verily Thou art the One with power over whatsoever Thou willest, and the Most Exalted in the dominion of creation, and the Most High in the sovereignty of destiny, and the Most Inaccessible in the sublimity of might of creation, and the Most Holy in the kingdom of earth and heaven.

All faces have prostrated themselves before the exaltation of Thy countenance and all matters have submitted at the dawning of Thy Will. Thou hast ever done what Thou willest and decreed what Thou desirest. Thou art not asked about what Thou doest for there existeth no god besides Thee to question Thee, and Thou shalt ask all things about all that they do, for verily Thou art the God of all things.

I testify by my prostration before Thee that my heart shall find repose with Thee, for this is the Most Exalted, the Most High, above all loftiness and glory. Through my acknowledgment of Thy oneness and my abasement before Thy Countenance, my being shall be soothed, for this is the highest ascendancy above all ascendancy and exaltation. Though another might possess the earth and all that is therein, by Thy glory, my soul findeth no rest save in Thee and in faith in what Thou dost reveal, for the one who possesseth the earth is veiled from Thy Countenance. By Thy glory, I seek Thy protection from this, and this is naught but through the excellence of Thy grace, whereby I have become detached from all that passions desire, that nothing may veil me from the Dayspring of Thy good-pleasure. Praise be unto Thee, O my God, for what Thou hast bestowed upon me of the clear signs, which those in the kingdom of earth and heaven are powerless to comprehend, and a single letter thereof is dearer to my heart than the dominion of the hereafter and this world, for such dominion, when its possessor dieth, is cut off from him, while these verses endure unto the Day [of Resurrection].

All praise be unto Thee for the sublimity of joy before Thy Countenance and the excellence of detachment before Thy Face. Thine is the most exalted praise and the most resplendent glory, above all praise and glory, for having made me the mirror of Thyself and distinguished me with that which Thy Being uttereth, and none but Thee can do this, for this is befitting of Him Who is the God of all things, their Lord, the Creator of all things and their Ordainer.

For, verily, all—whether of the exalted or of the lowly—shall, on that Day, say:

“The Qur’an is but a book of earlier times beside Thy Book.”

For that which is sent down from Thy presence hath no peer, that any of Thy servants might venture to aspire unto companionship with it—neither the Letters of the Living, nor Thy Names, nor Thine archetypes, nor Thy Prophets, nor Thy Messengers, nor Thine angels, nor those of Thy servants who draw nigh, nor the chosen among Thy saints, nor the human companions of Thine elect, nor the lofty among Thy trusted ones. Nay, all, in the stations of their existence, shall glorify Thee, assuredly convinced of the impotence of their hearts to comprehend Thy verses. And how could it be otherwise, when the bringing forth of them…?

Send down, then, O my God, upon the Tree which hath turned unto Thee with its whole being, and hath prostrated itself before Thee in its inmost reality, and hath submitted unto Thee in its very selfhood; which hath delivered Thy messages in all that is within it and upon it; which hath feared Thy justice and feared none beside Thee; and hath hoped for Thy bounty and hoped in none save Thee—send down upon it of Thy blessings, the most mighty thereof, the nearest thereto, the most unassailable, the most holy, and the most exalted. For that Tree is Thy Most Great Paradise for him that believeth in Thee in this world and in the world to come; therein are things seen and things unseen, and whatsoever souls and spirits desire, until the Cause returneth unto Thee on the Day of Return.

Then, when the oneness of the Point was set forth before all things, that Tree turned toward Thee, and Thou didst make it Thy Most Great Paradise for those who are in the heavens on high and the earth below, in this world and in the next. And another soul turned away, after all Thy signs had been presented to it; and it waxed arrogant, without seeing and without understanding. Therefore hast Thou made it the Tree of Fire, within its shadow; and Thou didst create its branches, its leaves, and its fruits from its own self; and Thou didst make it evanescent, non-existent, withered, unremembered—save that when it is mentioned it is joined to that which it hath earned for itself. And Thou didst render all that is within it and upon it—of fire—unto fire; and Thou didst make it lawful for him who hath not believed in Thee nor in Thy signs, and didst forbid it to the Tree that hath turned unto Thee, and to all its branches, and leaves, and fruits. And upon it there came down every name which Thou lovest not.

I beseech Thee, O my God, by Thyself, to send down upon the Tree of Thy love that which befitteth the loftiness of Thy sovereignty, and to send down upon the tree which prostrated not before the manifestation of Thy oneness all Thy chastisement and destruction which Thou hast made lawful for it. Even though Thou didst not wish to create the Tree of Fire when Thou didst not send down in the numbered nights and treasured hours anything less than the letters of the most exalted ones in Thy paradise, and Thou didst desire that there be nothing upon the earth save the Tree of Thy love, that all souls and what they possess might seek shelter in its shade.

But those who have been enriched by its dominion from the goods of this world from the Tree of Fire, when they gained through the rights of the essences of Thy verses and the gems of Thy words that which no heart can encompass in knowledge nor any ear can hear mention thereof. Therefore hast Thou created that Tree to annihilate it and destroy it and seize it and send down upon it what it deserveth of Thy vengeance and Thy might, even though Thy mercy hath encompassed all atoms.

Part 2: “For by Thy glory, even unto the uttermost…”

For by Thy glory, even unto the uttermost limit, I cannot bear to see an ant grieve in Thy path—how much less when Thy mercy, which hath encompassed all things, is too holy to see a soul grieve in the path of Thy love or that the knowledge of any of Thy loved ones be associated with that which Thou lovest not. Glorified art Thou! There is no God but Thee. How great is Thy grace and bounty! Glorified art Thou! There is no God but Thee. How vast is Thy generosity and beneficence! How boundless is Thy gift and favor! How exalted is Thy tenderness and grace! How ancient is Thy radiance and bounty! Glorified art Thou! Glorified art Thou!

All who are attributed unto Thee pour forth the portion of their existence, whether after an hour or after their ascension from one station to another, or nearer than this or further, for nothing escapeth Thy knowledge in the heavens or on earth or between them, and nothing in the kingdom of command or creation or below them can frustrate Thee. Thou shalt surely reward every soul that hath believed in the Point and then in Its letters after It, and hath loved the leaves of that Tree, then its branches and its leaves, with a true reward from Thy presence. Verily Thou art powerful and mighty over that.

And Thou shalt surely destroy those who prostrate not before Thee nor believe in It, and Thou shalt seize them with true seizure through Thy power and might and the extension of Thy Lordship’s dominion. Verily Thou art powerful, omnipotent and mighty over that which none other than Thee can do. Thou art unique in making lawful what Thou willest and making unlawful what Thou willest. None can reverse Thy Will nor alter Thy Purpose.

O my God! Thou art indeed independent of the essences of creation, how much more their deeds. Nay, all religions and faiths are from Thee, like a pomegranate given to a child to occupy him. Glory be unto Thee, glory be unto Thee! Thy independence from all things is indubitable, and the dependence of all things upon Thee is indubitable.

Were Thou to impose upon Thy servants any decree, who could say “why” or “wherefore”? And were Thou to lay upon them what would weigh heavy on their beings, who could say “why” or “wherefore”? And were Thou to prescribe for them what their hearts would accept, who could say “why” or “wherefore”? But since Thy way hath ever been loving-kindness and beneficence, and Thy custom bounty and grace, Thou hast made Thyself known to all things that they might thereby proclaim Thy oneness and declare that there is no God but Thee. And hadst Thou not made Thyself known to anyone, could any soul have known Thee? Glory be unto Thee, glory be unto Thee!

And hadst Thou not recognized the hearts of the Primal Letters which came unto Thee with all they possessed melted away, without any mention remaining, and which appeared before Thee devoid of knowledge—who could have drawn nigh unto Thee through them or given thanks to Thee for knowledge of the Letters of the One proceeding from Thee? For verily Thou art One, not in number nor by number nor by anything known save by Thee.

And hadst Thou not established the path for them that love Thee and detailed the ways of detachment for them that are devoted to Thee, how could they that obey Thee worship Thee and find delight in what Thou hast taught them of the ways of Thy will? Glorified art Thou! There is no God but Thee. All are from Thee, to Thee, by Thee, and unto Thee. There is no power nor strength except through Thee.

Thou hast ever called, in Thy most exalted heights, the lowest atom to the horizon of Thy praise, the heaven of Thy sanctification, the exaltation of Thy unity, the inaccessibility of Thy glorification, and the joy of Thy magnification. Who is like unto Thee in bounty despite Thy independence? Who is like unto Thee in mercy despite Thy self-sufficiency? Whose generosity equals Thy generosity, or whose nobility Thy nobility, or whose gift Thy gift, or whose kindness Thy kindness, or whose grace Thy grace, or whose pardon Thy pardon, or whose forbearance Thy forbearance, or whose compassion Thy compassion, or whose clemency after power Thy clemency, or whose forgiveness after might Thy forgiveness?

Nay, by Thy might! None can share with Thee in Thy names, Thy likenesses, Thy attributes, or Thy characteristics. All things besides Thee are as nothing before Thee except by Thy will. How could they be, when their very beings are dependent on what Thou lovest in Thy dominion? How could they be, when what Thou lovest not exists not in Thy mighty kingdom? Glorified art Thou above that! All else besides Thee was nothing before and shall be nothing after.

Absolute sovereignty belongeth to Thee alone, there is no God but Thee. Absolute majesty belongeth to Thee alone, there is no God but Thee. Absolute exaltation belongeth to Thee alone, there is no God but Thee. Absolute might belongeth to Thee alone, there is no God but Thee. Absolute grace belongeth to Thee alone, there is no God but Thee. Absolute perfection belongeth to Thee alone, there is no God but Thee. Absolute acceptance belongeth to Thee alone, there is no God but Thee.

Whomsoever Thou turnest Thy face toward, he is the beloved and cherished one; and whomsoever Thou turnest Thy countenance away from, he is the outcast and remote one. Glorified art Thou! There is no God but Thee. All majesty is within Thy grasp and all glory is in the right hand of Thy dominion. Thou hast ever drawn them that love Thee through the holy breezes of Thy Lordship, such that nothing exists in Thy knowledge except that which Thou lovest. But woe unto him who is not drawn by the attractions of Thy nearness, nor detached unto Thee through the signs of Thy love, nor inspired by Thy holy conditions, nor ascendeth unto Thee through glimpses of intimacy with Thee, nor dwelleth near Thee through what lieth with Thee.

Glory be unto Thee, O my God! Thou art the King of the kingdom of the Hereafter and the First. All destinies are in Thy grasp and all keys are in the right hand of Thy will. Whomsoever Thou openest unto the doors of Thy mercy shall ever ascend unto Thee in the horizon of Thy care and rise unto Thee in the paths of Thy providence. Thou art the One Who hath ever been and will ever be in the kingdom of eternity and the heaven of independence.

Thou art the Builder after all things in the kingdom of might and the heights of power. Verily Thou createst all things from nothing, by Thyself and for Thyself, for Thou art [exalted] above any equal or peer, above any like or similitude, above any resemblance or attribute, above any associate or description.

Glory be unto Thee, O my God! Whenever I make mention of Thee my heart beareth witness that I must seek Thy forgiveness for having mentioned Thee, for what right hath the servant to make mention of One such as Thee, O my God without peer? And what right hath the poor one to praise One such as Thee, O my Lord without equal?

Glory be to Thee and exalted art Thou! Glory be to Thee and holy art Thou! Glory be to Thee in Thy oneness! Glory be to Thee in Thy power! Glory be to Thee in Thy wisdom! Glory be to Thee in Thy justice! Glory be to Thee in Thy holiness! Glory be to Thee in Thy greatness! Glory be to Thee in Thy might! Glory be to Thee in Thy mercy! Glory be to Thee in Thy grace! Glory be to Thee in Thy harmony! Glory be to Thee in Thy generosity! Glory be to Thee in Thy nobility! Glory be to Thee in Thy bestowal! Glory be to Thee in Thy tenderness! Glory be to Thee in Thy majesty! Glory be to Thee in Thy power! Glory be to Thee in Thy forming! Glory be to Thee in Thy grandeur! Glory be to Thee in Thy beauty! Glory be to Thee in Thy splendor! Forever do all prostrate before Thee and make mention of Thee and [worship] Thee.

Therefore, O my God, send down at this moment upon the hearts that have ascended unto Thee in Thy glorification, and the spirits that have turned unto Thee in Thy praise, and the souls that have been detached unto Thee in Thy unity, and the bodies that have risen unto Thee in Thy magnification, and the forms that have vanished in the realms of Thy might through Thy glorification, that which befitteth the loftiness of Thy grandeur and greatness, the sublimity of Thy independence and sovereignty, the elevation of Thy self-subsistence and awesomeness, the invincibility of Thine eternity and power, the joy of Thy self-subsistence and exaltation, and that of which Thou art worthy, which none besides Thee can comprehend.

O God, raise their stations to the highest possible degree in creation, and send down upon their stations in the Ridvan wherein they live and die not that which befitteth the loftiness of Thy grace and the sublimity of Thy generosity and the elevation of Thy nobility and the invincibility of Thy kindness and the exaltation of Thy beneficence. And assist, O God, those who have inherited from these through a victory from Thee and might from Thy presence.

And send down at this moment upon those who have shown pride before Thee that which will seize them and destroy them and annihilate them and remove them from the earth, and cause those who believe in Thee and Thy signs to inherit what they possess, through Thy power from which nothing can escape, and Thy might which nothing can frustrate, and Thy sovereignty which is triumphant over all things, and Thy glory which is invincible above all things.

By Thy grandeur, which is manifest above all things, and by Thy dominion, which encompasseth all things—for the exponents of Thy decree have ever existed and shall continue to exist by Thy leave in the kingdom of Thy might, determining what Thou hast determined for them, and the exemplars of Thy power in what hath been and shall be, administering in the kingdom of Thy earth and heaven that which Thou hast ordained for them through the operation of Thy power and the wonders of Thy wisdom and Thy glorification.

O God! Ordain for us from Thy presence every good thing encompassed by Thy knowledge, and preserve us, O God, through Thee and through all Thy names and attributes, and those who believe in Thee and Thy signs, from that which Thou lovest not. Verily, Thou hast power over all things. Through Thee we have gained insight, strength, exaltation, greatness, glory and victory, that we may uplift the tree of Thy oneness and annihilate all that lieth beneath its shade through Thy might and power. For this is naught but to solace the hearts of those who have melted in Thy path through what they have heard of Thy decree and destiny. Otherwise, we have no desire beyond what we have beseeched of Thee, nor is it meet for us at such time save to grieve in Thy path and weep for the people of Thy love.

We shall assuredly invoke blessings upon them with all wherewith Thou invokest blessings upon the people of Thy love—not through the utterance of our tongues but through the manifestation of our hands—and we shall curse those who believe not in Thee nor in Thy signs, not through the utterance of our tongues but through the manifestation of our own selves. For that, at such time, will profit us from Thee in the Mother Book according to what Thou hast decreed and ordained through Thy Will. And unto Thee belongeth the power to create whatsoever Thou hast created or wilt create.

There is no power nor strength except through Thee. Thou knowest what is in the heavens and what is on the earth and what lieth between them. Nothing escapeth Thee in the kingdoms of Command and Creation and whatsoever lieth beneath them. Verily Thou hast knowledge of all things and power over all things. Have mercy upon us, O God, through Thy mercy, for Thou art the Best of those who show mercy. And bestow Thy blessings, O God, upon the Primary Letters, nine before ten, in every time, and before time, and after time.