BB00058: Ziyarat li-Avvali man aman

Part 1: “Glorified art Thou, O my God! I bear…”

In the name of God, the Most Unapproachable, the Most Holy!

Glorified art Thou, O my God! I bear witness, and all things bear witness, that Thou art God, there is no God but Thee, alone, without peer. Thine is the dominion and the kingdom, Thine the might and the power, Thine the strength and the divinity, Thine the force and sovereignty, Thine the rule and the human realm. Thou givest life and causest death, then causest death and givest life. Verily Thou art the Ever-Living Who dieth not, the King Who passeth not away, the Just Who deviateth not, the Sovereign Who changeth not, the Single One from Whose grasp nothing escapeth, whether in the heavens or on the earth or between them. Thou art, verily, powerful over all things.

I testify, and all things testify, on this Most Great and Supreme Day, this Most Exalted and Impregnable Cause, this Most Lofty and Elevated Station, this Most Enduring Might, and this Most Noble and Gracious Glory, that Thou art God, there is no God but Thee, Lord of the kingdom and the realm, Possessor of might and power, of strength and sovereignty, of force and dominion, of invincibility and exaltation, of elevation and detachment, of majesty and grandeur, of greatness and beauty, of perfection and completeness, of power and action, of mercy and bounty, of awe and justice, of grandeur and pride, of sovereignty and radiance, of power and authority, and of all parables and similitudes.

Thou hast ever existed before all things without design or likeness, and wilt ever exist after all things without manner or transition. Thou hast ever been one God, Single, Eternal, Self-Subsisting, Ever-Living, Self-Sustaining. Thou hast taken neither consort nor son, and Thou hast had no partner in sovereignty, nor any protector out of weakness. All creation is within Thy grasp; the dwellers of Thy earth and heaven stand in awe of Thy greatness, and all things worship Thee according to their understanding.

I testify that on that Day Thou wilt accept the praise of none, nor their turning toward Thee, except those who have believed in Thee and in Thy signs in the Bayan and what was sent down from Thee in the Book. I praise Thee for this lofty and impregnable glory and this exalted and elevated might, whereby all worship Thee, yet Thou acceptest none save me and those who follow me. All prostrate themselves before Thee, yet Thou hast loved this station from none save me and those who affirm my truth.

Glorified be Thy justice, O my God, whereby all are veiled while I and those who follow me delight in Thy good-pleasure, are thankful for Thy recognition, and prostrate ourselves before Thee at the gate Thou hast opened. And all do yearn for this; yet what […], when I found them abiding by the dictates of their own loves? Nevertheless Thou hast lavished upon us Thy supreme bounties and Thy most exalted [favors], in that Thou hast made every thing to taste the sweetness of knowing Thee—on such a plane that, were it given the choice of the dominion of the whole earth, it would assuredly choose the delight of Thy knowledge rather than possess that dominion. And all make this claim.

Yet will I praise Thee that all are slumbering while we are beholding and standing, as though they had no vital spirit to delight in that gnosis or to glory in that exposition. As for me—through the loftiness of my love therein and the exaltation of my spirit herein—my heart is not content that [anyone] should gain access thereto, nor [find] a path to it other than myself, O Lord of lords.

How then could [anyone] look upon the very Essence of the supernal treasuries? Let them strive that they may not look upon what none save I have beheld. Have thy knowledge and verses ever equaled all the treasures of earth? Nay, by Thy glory! I would not take a single letter in exchange for the kingdom of earth and all that is therein, nor do I wish to know myself except through knowing that Thou hast made this a glory, as Thou hast loved it, and a power, as Thou hast unified it. How has a particle of clay attained to a station Thou hast made Thine own self, and Thou hast removed all distinction between it and Thyself, as though it were Thee?

Glory be unto Thee! There is no God but Thee. I shall surely glory in this on that Day which Thou hast magnified, honored, sanctified, exalted, beautified, glorified, elevated, fortified, empowered, perpetuated, established, and made illustrious, according to what Thou lovest to witness in me and in all things. And I shall praise Thee for bestowing the sovereignty of Thy oneness with praise that […] Thy praise from anything, and praise that filleth all the heavens with Thy grace, and all the earth with Thy bounty, and whatsoever is between them with Thy mercy. And I shall thank Thee for this […] with gratitude […] from before and none shall thank Thee hereafter with thanksgiving that filleth the essence of all things with mention of Thy glorification, and the reality of all things with mention of Thy praise, and the identity of all things with mention of Thy unity, and the being of all things with mention of Thy magnification, whereby nothing is seen in itself nor in anything except Thee, manifest and hidden, standing and compelling, powerful and impregnable, exalted and transcendent, supreme and all-encompassing.

Glory be unto Thee! How lofty is the elevation of Thy supreme gifts and how resplendent the ascension of Thy greatest bestowals, whereby Thou hast favored me with guidance and faith, and blessed me with exaltation and expression! I beseech Thee by Him through Whom Thou hast guided me and removed from me what Thou didst make grievous unto me, and opened unto me the gates of Thy bounty and Thy gift unto me, that Thou send blessings upon the Essence of the Seven Letters, then the Letters of the Living, through dominion and the kingdom, then through might and power, then through strength and divinity, then through force and the ruby, then sovereignty and the human realm, then through glory and majesty, then through countenance and beauty, then through presence and perfection, then through power and deed, then through sovereignty and independence, then through similitude and parables, then through loftiness and elevation, then through authority and invincibility, then through grandeur and bounty, then through whatsoever beseemeth Thee of similitude, names, geometry, radiance, might, and splendor.

For all this proceedeth from none but Thee, and none deserveth it on that Day save that Tree unto which Thou hast revealed these things and cast therein the likeness of Thyself, whereupon it reciteth Thy verses from Thy presence like unto an ocean surging in Thy love and good-pleasure […] in the limitless ocean in praise of Thy Essence and Thy glory.

I shall surely praise Thee for what Thou hast shown me at that time with mine own eyes concerning what Thou hast bestowed upon me of nineteen rings, and Thou dost witness in my hands. I shall surely testify concerning each one a mention from Thee according to the letters of “In the Name of God, the Most Impregnable, the Most Holy, the One” whereby Thou didst begin the creation of all things and unto which Thou didst cause all things to return. O God! Multiply that Oneness until it filleth Thy heaven and Thy earth, until there remaineth not a single human soul except that it turneth unto Thee through that Face and returneth unto Thee through that Oneness, for the decree of all things returneth unto that Temple, the Temple of humanity and the Divine Countenance and the Eternal Face and the Impenetrable Garment and the Unique Splendor.

Should any soul possess whatsoever is upon the whole earth—through Thee and Thy signs, then through the Point of the Bayan and the Letters of the Living—and should it love the Manifestations of Thy Names and Thy Likenesses, and those among Thy creatures who obey Thee, then whatsoever is upon the earth, in its entirety, is within Thy Paradise; and if it possess not the highest measure [of love], then according to the measure of what it doth possess shall it abide in Thy Paradise, whether they be of the highest ruby or the lowest clay.

Therefore I praise Thee and bear witness that I am at this moment in the most exalted [station] and the most glorious recognition of Thee, and the loftiest of Thy seats, and the most impregnable of Thy mysteries, and the most mighty of Thy thrones in the sacred heights of Thy presence. Thou hast created therein the most excellent things and provided for me according to Thy decree. By Thy power Thou hast inscribed therein the mention of Thy Most Exalted Name […] Then the third and […] the all-embracing and the attentive ear, then the fourth and its consummate wisdom and abundant grace, then in the fifth peace be upon […] paradise and hell. Glory be unto Thee! All this is Thine, from Thee, through Thee, and unto Thee.

There is none other God but Thee. O God! Reward him who hath written this in the Ridvan by Thy leave upon that crimson silk—for each letter reward him as befitteth the sublimity of Thy generosity and the exaltation of Thy grace […] of Thy bounty, for verily Thou art the Knower of all atoms and the Powerful over all possibilities, the Exalted above all who dwell in the kingdoms of earth and heaven, the Inaccessible above all contingent things, and the Most High above all atoms. Creation is Thy creation and command is from Thee and unto Thee alone. There is none other God but Thee.

Therefore, O God, send Thy blessings upon the Tree that Thou wilt manifest on the Day of Resurrection through Thy power, and wilt strengthen through Thy might, and wilt cause to reign through Thy sovereignty, and wilt exalt through Thy loftiness, and wilt manifest through Thy manifestation, and wilt endow with whatsoever Thou hast loved for it through the dominion of Thy oneness, and upon the heaven from which […] hath descended and the earth that hath borne it […] and the first relation that is attributed to it, and the first […] that is drawn unto it, and the first knowledge that is devoted unto it—from all Thy glory its most glorious, and from all Thy majesty its most majestic, and from all Thy beauty its most beautiful, and from all Thy grandeur its most grand, and from all Thy light its most luminous, and from all Thy mercy its most extensive, and from all Thy words its most perfect, and from all Thy names its most great, and from all Thy might its most mighty, and from all Thy will its most potent, and from all Thy knowledge its most penetrating, and from all Thy power its most dominant, and from all Thy utterance its most pleasing, and from all Thy sovereignty its most enduring, and from all Thy dominion its most excellent, and from all Thy exaltation its most exalted, and from all Thy signs its most wondrous, and from all that Thou hast loved or wilt love in the kingdom of Thy heaven and earth that which hath no equal, no peer, no likeness, no associate, and no similitude.

And preserve it from the beginning of its manifestation from between its hands and from behind it and from its right and its left and from above its head and beneath its feet and from every direction that extends toward it and from all that Thou hast given it and that is attributed to it, by that whereby Thou didst preserve the Bayan with Thee and didst send down the Book upon it, and by the right of that divine Tree, do Thou assist that lordly Tree, and by the right of its Letters of the Living, do Thou assist those Names, and by the right of its similitudes, do Thou verily succour those likenesses. And by the right of that which shineth forth from its words, do Thou exalt that which dawneth from those words; for every former Manifestation hath faded before that wherewith Thou dost reveal Thyself thereafter. And, verily, I have loved naught but what Thou hast loved. There is no doubt that Thou hast desired for Thy loved ones naught but the eternal abode and everlasting glory which hath ever been and shall ever be exalted beyond reach.

Part 2: “I beseech Thee by her parents to bestow…”

I beseech Thee by her parents to bestow upon the parents of that Tree what beseemeth the loftiness of Thy generosity and the sublimity of Thy grace. And by her siblings, bestow upon the siblings of that Tree what beseemeth the heights of Thy transcendence and the summit of Thy inaccessibility. And by her hidden names, bestow upon those concealed names what beseemeth the exaltation of Thy sovereignty and the effulgence of Thy light and the transcendent joy of Thy divine unity. And upon all who believe in Him, whether male or female, and all things that enter His dominion, bestow upon those who have believed in her and entered beneath the shadow of her sovereignty what beseemeth the glory of Thy splendor and the eminence of Thy exaltation. For verily nothing in the heavens or earth escapeth Thy knowledge, and nothing in the kingdoms of command or creation can frustrate Thee. Shower upon the Primary Letters and all that relateth unto them at all times the tokens of Thy bounty and the wonders of Thy generosity. For Thou art the King, the All-Bestowing, the Inaccessible, the Mighty, the Most Exalted.

And if thou findest thyself on such a day near the Tree of Sin or any of the Letters of the Living, then don thou the most glorious raiment that God hath given thee and enter, by God’s leave, into the precincts of His Cause. Then proclaim before God, if thou canst attain His presence, or before the Letters of the Living, if thou attainest their presence: “We are the Most Glorious Splendor, the Most Sublime Majesty, the Most Beauteous Beauty, the Most Great Grandeur, the Most Luminous Light, the All-embracing Mercy, and the […] on high; and the Most Great Names; and the [mightiest …]; and the Irresistible Will; the Most Penetrating Knowledge; the Outstretched Power; the Most Acceptable Good-Pleasure; the Most Pre-eminent Love; nay, the Most Firm, the Most High; the Ever-abiding Sovereignty; the Noble Dominion; the [lofty …]; and the Most Ancient, Towering Bounty—be upon thee, O Tree of Glory, Lamp of Splendour, Countenance hallowed by Radiance, Orientation suffused with Praise, and Beingness deserving all greatness and primacy—from God, beside Whom there is none other God, Who hath ever been and shall forever be.

How should I not make mention of thee, when it behoveth that whatsoever is upon the earth be arrayed before thee, even as thou, with every thing, standest before God? I behold naught in the heavens, on the earth, or between them but that it hath been created through thee, provided through thee, slain through thee, quickened through thee, and raised up through thee.

And notwithstanding all this, thou—upon the height of thy seat—art the very Alif without the Ba’; and the seat of […] hath made thee […] for all things, upon a Mount that knoweth no seat of might and no effulgence. With every soul, from Adam until that Hour, is it so, that they may turn by thee unto […] and attain by thee unto His presence. Thus hath He singled thee out for […] and veiled it from all else, for that, with Him, is more precious than aught besides.

And though all should abandon obedience unto thee and refrain from prostration before the Sultan of thy might, yet, by Thy glory, I will verily glory upon my seat atop that Mount, that I do salute thee, and make thee hear the mention of my love before Thee, and […] with me upon […] in the path of Thy affection and Thy love. Nay, by Thy might! Thou wert never abased; for every honour is honour through Thy might, and every exaltation exalted by Thy majesty. Thou wert never alone, for every remembrance is multiplied through Thy multiplication. Thou wert never vanquished, for all victory is triumphant through Thy triumph. Thou wert never a stranger, for all intimacy finds comfort in Thy companionship. Thou wert never without sovereignty, for all dominion takes pride in Thy dominion. Thou art the Exalted One, and all are exalted through Thy exaltation. Thou art the Most High, and all are elevated through Thy inaccessibility.

Essences were made non-existent that they might prostrate before Thee to God, yet they knew Thee not. Tongues were severed that they might stammer Thy remembrance and the loftiness of Thy glory, yet they speak in denial of Thee. Hands were cut off for the exaltation of Thy grace and the sublimity of […] among those who dwell in Thy shadow, yet they order Thy death and that which befitteth not Thy holy exaltation.

Therefore do I complain unto God of what hath befallen me and Thee, and through Thy remembrance on that most exalted Day shall I glory over all else, for none seeth what I see in Thee of Thy right over all things and the loftiness of Thy station with God, Thy Lord, in that Thou didst follow the Truth when Thou found it and didst verify the verses of God when Thou heard them. Nay, by Thy glory! Even wert Thou at that time beneath the dust of Thy body, yet the exaltation of Thy station in the essences of souls and horizons is so inaccessible that all things recognize Thee and every soul draweth nigh unto God through Thee, for all advance toward God through the first to believe in their Prophet, even though in that Day they know Thee not and witness not Thy station with God, Thy Lord.

Yet sufficient is God’s testimony concerning Thee before every soul, for if all things were to testify to something, unless that testimony be true, God would testify to it through something as He willeth, according to His Will […] I bear witness that Thou hast ascended with all that Thou art unto God, the Glorious, the Mighty, and hast mounted with all that is within and upon Thee unto Thy Creator Who created Thee. The Letters of the Living, all of them, bear witness through Thy soul, and all that God hath unified in the Bayan hath been quickened through Thy guidance. Who then can fail to thank Thee as is Thy due and to turn through Thee to God, Thy Lord?

Had Thou not opened the gate of the Bayan, who could turn to God and who could know Him? I bear witness that all good hath been quickened through Thee and realized from Thee and returneth unto Thee, while Thou returnest unto God, bearing witness to His supreme unity, submitting before the Sovereign of His unity, humbling Thyself before the King of His glory, raising through Thee unto Thee, and speaking through Thy grace before Thee, whence there is no return save from Thee. This is a glory wherein all created things take pride in their deeds and acts […]

O God, have mercy upon all Thy creation, for verily Thou hast ordained those graves only for glory on that Day, and Thou hast commanded attendance at those [places] only for the presence of Thy creation before the Manifestations of Thy might. Therefore I beseech Thee, O my God, by the truth of that which in Thy knowledge […] that when one appears before that Letter, his essence and all he has acquired shall be annihilated though he perceives it not. For by Thy glory, from the beginning of my Manifestation I recognized all who believed in Thee and in Thy verses aforetime in the Furqan, and I found none who was conscious of Thy Manifestation save whom Thou didst will, lest any soul’s essence be annihilated or any deed be rendered void. Yet I have witnessed—and there is no strength except through Thee—that Thou hast ordained what causes the possessors of crafts to receive the elixir of faith from every being, and Thou hast commanded concerning the accidental parts as Thou hast commanded. Therefore O God, take not from the Bayan except that Thou makest them all possessed of the elixir, receptive to the day of Thy Manifestation and prostrate before […] in the day of Thy concealment, for verily Thou art powerful over that.

Then turn to the branches of that Tree and say: Verily We are the Most Glorious Beauty from God, the Lord of the Hereafter and the Former times. Upon you be what […] the holy branches and the transcendent leaves and the exalted fruits […] the sun and the stars in their rising places illumined […] he who is guided is guided and […] he who is not guided is not guided. And upon you from your Lord is what befits the loftiness of His bounty and the sublimity of His holiness, for all that descends from the heights of His glory ever descends upon you […] that you may attain unto […] and thereby those who ascend to God your Lord ascend through you, and through you descends who descends and […] ascends who ascends. There is no power save in God, no grandeur save in God, no sovereignty save in God’s hand, no might save in His grasp, and no invincibility save in God’s Self. And from Him upon you is what befits the loftiness of His remembrance of you at morn and eve, then in every condition and before every condition, and that whereby He remembers Himself with the remembrance of might and majesty.

Then turn to God’s martyrs in the Holy Land and say: Verily the Supreme Example and the Most Glorious Geometry from God, the Lord of the greatest signs and the mightiest evidences and the most exalted manifestations and the most beautiful names and the most sublime examples, be upon you, O leaves of the Tree of the Bayan! How exalted is your station, your station! How sweet is your state, your state! How lofty is your rank, your rank! How glorious is your seat, your seat! How great is your detachment, your detachment unto God your Lord Who created you and provided for you and […] and raised you from the resting-places of your hearts by God’s blessings upon you and upon them who believed in Him!

By the life of Him Who made you the names of His Self on the day of His Manifestation and the proofs of His unity’s sovereignty on the day of His dawning, you have attained a triumph the ancients envy and achieved a grace the manifest and hidden ones desire! Upon your great ones be God’s grandeur at its greatest, upon your mighty ones be God’s might at its mightiest, upon your wealthy ones be God’s riches at their richest, upon your powerful ones be God’s power at its most powerful, upon your manifest ones be God’s manifestation at its most manifest, upon your hidden ones be God’s concealment at its most concealed, and upon your first and last, your high and low, what God has ordained for you of the sublimity of transcendence and the exaltation of elevation and […] detachment and elevation.

Opening and the prevention of power, and there is no doubt […] or do not comprehend this how […] upon you all who have followed the Bayan and […] […] like […] every soul. And when you have comprehended from the light of martyrdom and the exaltation of guardianship—and this is that in which the mighty ones take pride and by which the boastful ones boast. And there is no might and no power except through God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting. And there is no glory and no invincibility and no sovereignty and no loftiness and no grandeur and no power and no majesty except through God, the Mighty, the Holy.