BB00147: Du’a’i yawmi nisfi sha’ban

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

Glorified art Thou, O God! I testify, and all things testify, that Thou art God, there is no God but Thee, alone with no partner. Thine is the creation and the command, Thou givest life and causeth death, then causeth 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. Verily, Thou art powerful over all things.

This is the day when the souls of those who have believed in Thee and in Thy signs ascend unto Thee and descend to the court of the Manifestations of Thy names and Thy examples. I beseech Thee therefore, O my God, to send down upon the hearts, souls, spirits and bodies of those who have detached themselves unto Thee that which will bring solace to their eyes in the pavilions of Paradise and will bring tranquility to their inner beings through that which Thou hast revealed in the Bayan. Verily, Thou art powerful over this, swift to act, O Thou the Possessor of might and sovereignty! And verily Thou art, over this, transcendent and inaccessible, O Thou the Possessor of glory and grace!

I beseech Thee, O God, by the Tree which Thou hast planted at Thy affirmation and watered with the blood of Thy loved ones, to cause that Tree, its branches, leaves and fruits to grow until it reacheth that which is befitting at Thy creation and returneth to that which is worthy of the court of Thy glory and majesty. For Thou hast made lawful the blood of Thy loved ones at the manifestation of Thy unity and hast made detachment permissible for the people of Thy love at the appearance of Thy sanctity.

I beseech Thee therefore, O my God, by the hearts that have glorified Thy Essence morning and evening, by the spirits that have prostrated themselves before Thy Being at eventide and dawn, by the souls that have unified Thy camphor-like nature in the vessel of night and the extremities of day, and by the bodies that have submitted themselves before Thee between Thy hands through what Thou hast cast into them of awe and detachment, to send down at this moment from the highest horizon upon these sacred temples and radiant, perfected Manifestations in Thy love that which will establish Thy glorification, raise up Thy praise, proclaim Thy unity, and exalt Thy magnification, and will set right what Thou hast intended for the people of Thy kingdom, and will bring into being that which will delight the eyes of the people of Thy dominion.

For verily Thou art each day in a wondrous state. Thou dost recompense every soul for what it hath earned, and there remaineth not hidden from Thee that which the hands of men have acquired—neither from those whom Thou hast created from the Tree of Affirmation and hast exalted their mention through what Thou hast revealed regarding them until the Day of Reckoning, nor from the Tree of Negation which Thou hast caused to perish in its shade with true annihilation, whereof Thou didst reveal aforetime in the Mother Book:

“It is like an evil tree, uprooted from above the earth, having no stability.”

Glorified art Thou, O God! All return unto Thee, even if it be a servant who hath possessed the east of the earth and its west. But Thou hast made them to be among the letters of negation, wherefore they earn not so much as a grain of anything, and when they are seized by Thy command they enter into the fire and return to the severest punishment, and their own souls disavow themselves just as I this day bear witness regarding those who worship Thee not—how they disavow the Names of those who worshipped Thee not before, though they themselves are in torment, yet they know not. And their skins shall be changed until they disavow themselves just as they disavowed before, and they curse themselves for what their hands have earned in Thy path. Verily Thou art most severe in punishment and most exemplary in retribution. And how many servants have possessed the east of the earth and its west, yet today none remembereth them save to curse them if they are remembered, or else Thou hast elevated their mention as though they had no mention. Thus dost Thou cause the Tree of Negation to perish, even as Thou hast promised unto Thyself.

Glorified art Thou, O God! I seek refuge in Thee through Thy Names which Thou hast magnified, through the verses Thou hast sent down, through the similitudes Thou hast exalted, through the decrees Thou hast ordained, and through the stations Thou hast distinguished, lest I should disavow them or mention them in any way other than how Thou hast mentioned them. Therefore, O my God, curse their souls and curse those who curse them not, and those who remain silent regarding their cursing, and those who desire to remedy what their hands have wrought, and those who turn to them for any matter, for Thou hast commanded the Tree of Affirmation and those who seek shelter beneath its shade to deny those who believe not in Thee. We, by Thy might, believe in Thee and Thy signs, while we disavow the Tree of Negation and all that pertaineth thereunto.

O God! Multiply Thy blessings and the tokens of Thy mercy upon the Tree of Thy unity, the branches of Thy singleness, the leaves of Thy sanctity, and the fruits of Thy glorification. And curse, O Lord, the Tree of Negation and all that is associated therewith. Place the degradation of their deeds before their eyes and seize them for their actions with a severity surpassing that with which Thou didst seize the Pharaohs, destroy the tyrants, and annihilate the manifestations of wickedness, removing them from the earth save the Blessed Tree, for verily Thou art powerful over this through the dominion of Thy might and the sovereignty of Thy dominion.

O God! Rend them with every torment and destroy them with every destruction Thou createst by Thy command, for we declare there is no God but Thee, alone with no partner. Thy proof hath been completed against all who dwell in the kingdom of Thy heaven and earth, whereby Thou dost establish the Tree of Affirmation and exalt it, that Thou might abase the Tree of Negation and destroy it, for there is no glory save in obedience to Thee and Thy good-pleasure, and no abasement save in Thy wrath and in failing to follow the Manifestations of Thy countenance.

Preserve me, O my God, through Thy power, Thy might, Thy sufficiency, Thy strength, and the examples of Thy Lordship, from that which Thou lovest not and which is attributed to the Tree of Negation. Grant me, O my God, that which Thou hast loved and attributed to the Tree of Affirmation from Thy presence, for that Tree is established as Thou hast described it in the Mother Book, where Thou hast said—and Thy word is the truth—“its root is firm and its branch is in heaven, yielding its fruit at all times by the permission of its Lord.”

Glory be unto Thee, O Lord! Although Thou mayest cause a person to be destitute of all earthly possessions, and from the beginning of his life until his ascension unto Thee he may be reduced to poverty through the operation of Thy decree, yet wert Thou to have brought him forth from the Tree of Thy love, such a bounty would indeed be far better for him than all the things Thou hast created in heaven and earth and whatsoever lieth between them; inasmuch as he will inherit the heavenly home, through the revelation of Thy favors, and will partake of the goodly gifts Thou hast provided therein; for the things which are with Thee are inexhaustible. This indeed is Thy blessing which according to the good-pleasure of Thy Will Thou dost bestow on those who tread the path of Thy love.

How numerous the souls who in former times were put to death for Thy sake, and in whose names all men now pride themselves; and how vast the number of those whom Thou didst enable to acquire earthly fortunes, and who amassed them while they were deprived of Thy Truth, and who in this day have passed into oblivion. Theirs is a grievous chastisement and a dire punishment. O Lord! Provide for the speedy growth of the Tree of Thy divine Unity; water it then, O Lord, with the flowing waters of Thy good-pleasure, and cause it, before the revelations of Thy divine assurance, to yield such fruits as Thou desirest for Thy glorification and exaltation, Thy praise and thanksgiving, and to magnify Thy Name, to laud the oneness of Thine Essence and to offer adoration unto Thee, inasmuch as all this lieth within Thy grasp and in that of none other.

Great is the blessedness of those whose blood Thou hast chosen wherewith to water the Tree of Thine affirmation, and thus to exalt Thy holy and immutable Word. Ordain for me, O my Lord, and for those who believe in Thee that which is deemed best for us in Thine estimation, as set forth in the Mother Book, for within the grasp of Thy hand Thou holdest the determined measures of all things. Thy goodly gifts are unceasingly showered upon such as cherish Thy love and the wondrous tokens of Thy heavenly bounties are amply bestowed on those who recognize Thy divine Unity. We commit unto Thy care whatsoever Thou hast destined for us, and implore Thee to grant us all the good that Thy knowledge embraceth. Protect me, O my Lord, from every evil that Thine omniscience perceiveth, inasmuch as there is no power nor strength but in Thee, no triumph is forthcoming save from Thy presence, and it is Thine alone to command. Whatever God hath willed hath been, and that which He hath not willed shall not be. There is no power nor strength except in God, the Most Exalted, the Most Mighty.

O God! Open the eyes of them that love Thee, inasmuch as they see no glory save in obedience to Thee and in Thy good-pleasure, and no abasement save in him who believeth not in Thee and boweth not down before the majesty of Thy Countenance, for that is an everlasting glory, and this an abasement from which its people shall flee when its shame is made manifest. Glory be unto Thee! There is no God but Thee. I love naught but what Thou lovest, and verily I, with my heart, my soul, my spirit, my being and all that Thou hast given me to possess, am quit of him who believeth not in Thee and acknowledgeth not Thy unity, for he is among the letters of negation in Thy sight.

I shall love with my whole being all the manifestations through which Thy unity is established, and I beseech Thee of Thy grace to join together these holy Temples and preserve them before them and behind them, on their right and on their left, above their heads and beneath their feet, and from every direction that leadeth unto them, that no measure of grief, even to the extent of nineteen times nineteen mustard seeds, may reach them. Rather, O my God, do Thou at all times send down from the heights of Thy unity that which shall gladden their eyes and which shall wreak such vengeance upon negation and those who dwell therein as shall cool their hearts, for by this doth Thy servant rejoice before Thy glory and his heart is solaced at the appearance of Thy chastisement and Thy power. There is no strength save in Thee.

By Thy might! I have not loved nor do I love to mention a single letter of negation, nay, I love not that my knowledge should encompass it, nay, I love not that my thoughts should dwell upon it. However, do I not see that these whom Thou hast chosen by Thy Cause and selected for the places of Thy creation, and made them the letters of Thy affirmation and the repositories of Thy signs, have been abased at the hands of them that have waxed proud? Though their weakness in Thy sight is a glory that shall not pass away, and the strength of them that have waxed proud is an abasement that shall destroy them, yet have I confided in Thee, O my God, that Thou wilt hasten to exalt this Tree that Thy unity may be made manifest and the branches of Thy detachment may bear fruit, and that Thou wilt annihilate him who believeth not in Thee and in Thy signs, and bring him to utter extinction, and destroy him as befitteth Thy power over him, that the Command may remain Thine alone.

There is no God but Thee, and no letter of negation existeth save that Thou hast scattered it by the severity of Thy might, nor any letter of affirmation save that Thou hast honored it through the glory of Thy names and the gifts of the measures of Thy majesty, for none is able to do this save Thee.

There is no power nor strength except through Thee. In Thee do I place my trust and verily Thou art sufficient unto us. They who have believed in Thee and in Thy signs have no way against them who have not believed in Thee and in Thy signs. Those are the party of God and those are the triumphant ones. And those are the letters of negation and those are they who, by reason of what their hands have wrought, shall be brought to naught upon the earth. They have no protector nor helper from God. They have no protector nor supporter from God. God hath seized them for their sins, and they have no defender from God.