BB00099: Ziyarat for Thursday night (Ziyara jami’a)

Part 1: “Praise be to God, besides Whom there…”

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

Praise be to God, besides Whom there is no God, the Living, the Sovereign, the Self-Subsisting. Verily, the Glory from God be upon the First Unity, then upon its numbers, then upon those that resemble those numbers wherein naught is seen save the First Unity. And then, if thou art, on such a Friday night, at one of the seats of the numbers of Unity, or at the dust wherefrom its essence hath ascended unto God from the beginning of the Bayan until the Day of Him Whom God shall make manifest, when He giveth permission for its exaltation—then purify thyself from all that thou abhorrest. And when thou hast completed what God hath prescribed for thee of thy prayer, enter that seat in such wise that shouldst thou attain the Day of Resurrection, thou wouldst present thyself before none save God or before what God hath commanded thee.

For verily this shall profit thee in the night. Establish thyself in thy seat there and remember what hath transpired in the Bayan of decree, and let thy tears flow from thine eyes in the paths of glory and exaltation, and whatsoever lieth between them and beneath them. For verily God loveth the tear that floweth in the paths of His love for the exaltation of His Word, and at the moment when thy tears flow from thine eyes, God shall, of His grace, forgive whatsoever thou hast encompassed in knowledge. He, verily, is the All-Bountiful, the All-Subtle.

Then, when thy grief hath subsided, recite this prayer:

Glory be unto Thee, O God, my God! I bear witness at this moment, on this Friday night, and so doth every thing, that Thou art God, there is no God but Thee, alone, with no partner. Thine is the kingdom and Thine the praise. Thou givest life and causest death, then causest death and givest life. And verily Thou art the Living Who dieth not, and the King Whose sovereignty passeth not away, and the Just Who wrongeth not, and the Sovereign Who changeth not, and the One from Whose grasp nothing escapeth, whether in the heavens or on the earth or between them. And Thou art, verily, powerful over all things.

Thou didst create me, O my God, in the realm of creation from the beginning that hath no beginning until Thou didst bring me to this hour. I bear witness, and so doth every thing, that Thou hast brought all things into being through me, and I do observe the paths which Thou hast established among Thy creation, whereby all do worship Thee, glorify Thee, sanctify Thee, unite with Thee, and magnify Thee. And all, apart from Thy will, are Thy servants, and apart from Thy good-pleasure are Thy worshippers, save those who prostrate themselves before Thee in the Bayan and worship Thee according to what Thou didst reveal unto me in that Manifestation in most excellent exposition.

I praise Thee for having created me, then the Letters of the Living by Thy power, then all who have believed through Thy might until the Day of Him Whom Thou shalt manifest. We are, verily, Thy servants in truth upon the earth and Thy worshippers in justice thereon. How many faces, O my God, have prostrated themselves before Thy grandeur on this night, and all have fallen short of Thee save those who prostrate themselves before Thee through my Manifestation! And how many hearts have submitted themselves before Thee in this hour, and all have returned unto themselves save those that submitted in that Manifestation, for these return unto Thee! And how many eyes weep from fear and awe of Thee, and all are rejected by Thee save those who fear Thee in the Bayan and stand in awe of Thy justice!

And how many bodies toil in the paths of Thy good-pleasure that Thou mightest accept from them a remembrance, and all are barred from Thy will save those who toil for Thee in the Bayan with joy and fragrance according to what Thou hast ordained of the paths and the exposition! And how many servants strive after Thy countenance on such a night as this and call upon Thee with the clamor of their tongues and the cry of their voices, and verily these are cut off from Thy will save those who commune with Thee through him by whom Thou hast opened a path for creation.

O my God! I beseech Thee by Thy bounty to manifest One possessed of power and might, and to establish His dominion through Thy power and sovereignty. Do Thou clothe Him with the robe of Thy dominion and might, and array Him in the mantle of Thy glory and munificence, that He may, through Thy hidden mercy, show compassion unto all who dwell on earth, that He may cause all to enter Thy paradise and give all to drink of the water of Thy love. For I grieve over all who dwell on earth, since all were created through Me, yet I behold them in their remoteness from Thee and their estrangement from Me.

I beseech Thee therefore, O my God, on this night, by the power wherewith Thou hast empowered it, by the might wherewith Thou hast endowed it, by the self-subsistence wherewith Thou hast established it, by the sanctity wherewith Thou hast hallowed it, and by the pre-existence wherewith Thou hast preordained it, that Thou send Thy blessings upon the Primal Unity and upon Him Who is Thine alone—there is no God but Thee—in the Bayan, and that Thou raise up in it One Who shall cause all on earth and all things to enter that Most Great, Most Great, Most Great, Most Great, Most Great Paradise, whose breadth is as the breadth of heaven and earth and all that lieth between them, wherein are all things without similitude, equal, peer, companion or likeness. And make all these believers in Him Whom Thou shalt manifest and prostrate themselves before His countenance through what Thou shalt elevate through the signs of Thy power.

By Thy might! Were it possible that a soul should entertain, even for an instant, any thought beneath the measure of its faith, Thou wouldst assuredly seize it and cause it to perish—better for it were this than that Thou shouldst suffer it to remain, to veil itself from God its Lord, to become vain, and to render void the fruit of its existence. For Thou, verily, hast not created the heavens and the earth and whatsoever lieth between them save in truth, pure and dedicated unto Thine own Self, apart from any beside Thee—except such as abide within the good-pleasure of Thine own Self and are established beneath the shadow of the ordinances of Thy holiness.

For such a one hath his portion according to the measure of his recognition; and were all who are in the heavens and on the earth and between them to beseech of Thy bounty that Thou wouldst bestow it upon him, Thou wouldst grant it, without that aught should be diminished from Thy sovereignty; for, inasmuch as each possesseth this and that, each is within his own degree. Glorified art Thou, glorified art Thou, O my God! I magnify Thee for what Thou hast created; and how resplendent is Thy generosity toward them whom Thou hast brought into being!

These are, O my God, the seats before Thee which Thou hast raised up through the word of the Point of the Bayan. Verily we—howsoever we be commanded to follow—shall indeed follow this; for we know not the loftiness of what Thou hast ordained for us beyond what Thou hast taught us, nor is it ours to say in the face of Thy decree, “Why didst Thou not call?” For Thou didst choose aforetime clay, and didst ascribe it unto Thyself, and it became Thy House; even so hast Thou chosen a soul, and it became Thy Vicegerent after Thy Messenger. And that which made the House to be a House was but the utterance of Thy Beloved from Thee; and make Thou the Vicegerent to be a Vicegerent by the word of Thy Beloved from Thee—that we should seek proof in none beside him, and find no testimony save him. We behold him, on that Day, before our eyes, as we behold Thy Word in a station whereunto all the worlds are powerless to attain. By this have we believed that he is from Thee, and in this there is no doubt.

And were we to behold this alone in the presence of Him Whom Thou shalt cause to appear, we would prostrate ourselves before him, ere Thou shouldst say “Why?” or “For what?” For we entered into the Bayan only for this; and whoso seeketh proof other than this, his faith shall not be accepted of him, nor shall he have any proof with Thee. For I desired that the Day of Resurrection should be even as this day, O my God, wherein I have planted the Bayan; yet on that Day I behold each one in such a state that he is veiled from the Planting of his own hand, save whomsoever Thou willest of Thy creatures. And I bear Thee witness that on that Day all are liars in their faith, save him who shall have believed in me by that proof in my latter end; and all are veiled from meeting Me, save him who believeth in me by that proof on the day of my return, my exaltation, and my sublimity.

Therefore do Thou protect, O my God, all Thy creatures; for I have planted the Tree of the Furqan, and I found not, at that time, any who would fulfil his covenant therein, or be informed of my purpose, or act purely for Thee unto the day of meeting Thee; nay, all were in far-removed desires and in veils not subtle. Do Thou, then, rend asunder, O my God, all veils between me and them through Thy power; and cause them, O my God, to know my purpose aforetime, by Thy might.

Part 2: “They shall behold the Cause of my Lord…”

They shall behold the Cause of my Lord according to the measure thereof within their own selves; and whoso hath veiled himself, the severity of Thy wrath shall be upon his own self. And I bear Thee witness, and all things, that none in the Bayan shall his faith profit him, if he attain the Day of Resurrection, unless he believe in Him Whom Thou shalt cause to appear—though it be in the darkest night. For if he transgress not Thy bounds, he is within Thy paradise and Thy good-pleasure, and within the loftiness of Thy glory and Thy exaltation, and the sublimity of Thy bounty and Thine abiding—yet after that…

Glorified art Thou, glorified art Thou, glorified art Thou, glorified art Thou, glorified art Thou—far be it from me to judge any soul by its “thingness,” for the “thingness” of all things hath been brought into being for that Day; how much more so, then, when He Who shall appear, by His own “thingness,” causeth every thing to appear! Glorified art Thou: there is none other God but Thee. Glorified art Thou! Verily I have been of them that remember Thee.

Then say: Verily the Glory is from God upon you, O gems of glory; then the Majesty is from God upon you, O gems of majesty; then the Beauty is from God upon you, O gems of beauty; then the Grandeur is from God upon you, O gems of grandeur; then the Light is from God upon you, O gems of light; then the Mercy is from God upon you, O gems of mercy; then the Names are from God upon you, O gems of the names; then the Might is from God upon you, O gems of might; then the Will is from God upon you, O gems of will; then the Knowledge is from God upon you, O gems of knowledge; then the Power is from God upon you, O gems of power; then the Good-pleasure is from God upon you, O gems of good-pleasure; then the Love is from God upon you, O gems of love; then the Honour is from God upon you, O gems of honour; then the Sovereignty is from God upon you, O gems of sovereignty; then the Dominion is from God upon you, O gems of dominion; then the Bounty is from God upon you, O gems of bounty—each one of you.

Then most of you—inasmuch as ye have ascended unto God your Lord, and mounted up unto God your King, and been uplifted unto God your Possessor, and been drawn unto God your Sovereign—yours is, of the favour of God, its most excellent; and of the bounty of God, its most bountiful; and of the kindness of God, its most gentle; and of the generosity of God, its most generous; and of the bestowal of God, its most freely bestowed; and of the gift of God, its greatest; and of the beneficence of God, its nearest and its greatest; and of the signs of God, their most perfect; and of the words of God, their most wondrous; and of the manifestations of God, their most manifest; and of the effulgences of God, their most drawing; and of the names of God, their most holy; and of the attributes of God, their most ancient; and of the archetype of God, its most exalted; and of every good that hath no equal, and of every fair deed that hath no likeness, and of every remembrance that hath no peer, and of every glory that hath no companion, and of every loftiness that hath no exemplar.

Ye have, through your power, attained unto that whereat the former and the latter would rejoice; and ye have, through your detachment, possessed that which the manifest and the hidden would seek. All have been created of water and return unto dust; and ye have been created even as they were created, and ye return even as they return. Yet have ye surpassed them by that which ye have surpassed—so that God remembereth you from everlasting to everlasting, and His angels invoke blessings upon you without number and without end—not by reason of your works in His religion, but by reason of your severing yourselves from all else save God your Lord. For how many have wrought as ye have wrought, and have sought the Glory of God as ye have sought it, yet are they, even unto that time, unable to attain the path to that which ye have possessed, nor can they find any proof unto that bounty which God hath opened before you.

This is your honour with God your Lord, inasmuch as, at your threshold, the angels on high, and they that glorify, and the Cherubim, and the sanctified, and they that cry “there is not god but God,” shall descend. Yet all this would not equal that He should ennoble you by what God shall reveal through His primal bounty, and that the Manifestation of the Essence should remember you by His remembrance of you—higher is this than that every thing should remember you; and His presence there is more precious in the sight of God than that every thing should come to be present before you.

It behoveth you to recognize your Dawning-Place on the day of His appearing, apart from what your loved ones have said. It behoveth you to aid your Educator with all the loftiness that is possible within you. It behoveth you to cleave unto your King with the sublimity He meriteth from you in the sight of God. It behoveth you to be drawn by the signs of your Lord when ye hear the call of your Sovereign. It behoveth you to detach yourselves from every possessor of “thingness,” and to deliver your souls unto the Will of every possessor of will; and your souls should love that God and all His creatures should remember you. And if ye attain Him—this is the gift of God within you and upon you, and the Glory of God from Him vouchsafed unto you, until the Day of Resurrection. Then whoso earneth, beyond the measure of a single atom, shall behold it in the presence of his Lord; and whoso falleth short of that beareth witness against his own self before his Lord. Therefore await ye—verily We have been awaiting. And wait ye—verily We have been waiting.

Glorified art Thou, O my God! These are hearts that have ascended unto Thee, and spirits that have mounted up in Thy presence, and souls that have been severed unto Thee, and bodies that have been transformed beneath Thine eyes. And Thou, verily, art the Almighty over the heavens and the earth and whatsoever lieth between them, and the All-Subduing over them that dwell in the dominions of command and creation and whatsoever is beneath them. Do Thou then take vengeance, O my God, for Thy loved ones upon him whom Thou hast testified against, for lack of Thy love and Thy good-pleasure; and send down upon him who hath grieved in the Bayan for Thy sake—or hath borne witness beyond that—of every glory the most glorious, of every majesty the most august, of every beauty the most fair, of every greatness the most mighty, of every light the most luminous, of every mercy the most merciful, of every word the most perfect, of every name the most great, of every might the most puissant, of every will the most effectual, of every knowledge the most penetrating, of every power the most potent, of every utterance wherewith Thou art well-pleased, of every request the dearest unto Thee and the most guarded in Thy presence, of every honour the most honourable, of every sovereignty the most enduring, of every dominion the most splendid, of every loftiness the most sublime, and of every good wherewith Thou art worthy of the Most Exalted Loftiness and the most resplendent sublimity.

Verily Thou art He from Whose knowledge nothing escapeth, whether in the heavens or on the earth or whatsoever lieth between them. Thou shalt surely take vengeance upon him who hath not believed in Thee nor in Thy signs; and Thou shalt cause every favour of Thine to reach him who hath believed in Thee and then in Thy signs. For this cause do the souls of Thy glorifiers in Thy signs and Thy words, from the First One unto whatsoever Thou dost number and wherewith Thou art well-pleased—and beyond that wherewith Thou art well-pleased—cry aloud. Verily Thou art my Protector and the Protector of them that have believed in Thee. In Thee do we put our trust, in the latter life and in this. Verily Thou art sufficient: through Thee have we sought victory, and prevailed, and subdued, and been strengthened, and been protected, and been given dominion, and been exalted. There is no power and no might save through Thee. Thou art, verily, our Lord. Glorified art Thou: there is none other God but Thee. Verily we have submitted ourselves unto Thee.