BB00349: Ziyarat li-Hurufi’l-’isma

In the Name of God, the All-Bestowing, the Most Gentle.

I call God—and all whom His knowledge encompasseth—to witness that there is no God but He, the Ever-Abiding, the Most Holy, the Most Exalted. Again I call Him to witness over all that He hath originated and shall yet originate, according to His good-pleasure and His will: verily, there is no God but He, the All-High, the All-Great.

Every simple essence that hath emerged from the court of the nearness of the Sovereign of Eternity, and every pure camphor of splendor that hath shone from the presence of the King—first remembered—together with His manifestations at the wellsprings of causes, and with what revealed itself by its very self in the blackest night—be upon Thee, O Beloved, O Lord of the All-Exalted, the Most High! And upon Thee, O Dreaded One, O utmost object of my desire in the world to come and in this first life!

No doubt remaineth that Thy knowledge embraceth all things, Thy power prevaileth over all things, Thy will subdueth all things, Thy purpose is executed ere all things, Thy sovereignty is manifest above all things, Thy words are perfected after all things, and Thy manifestations stand firm with all things. And yet—according to what God, thy Lord, hath taught me—how shall I make mention of Thy praises, or cling to the fringes of Thy bounties and Thy gifts? For whatsoever the servant mentioneth is referred back unto himself, returned to his own limit, banished within the confines of his bounds, and cut off from the station of nearness and presence.

Nay, by Thy might! I have not truly made mention of Thee aforetime, neither have I a portion in Thy nearness. Had I known the path, I would have been the first of them that remember. I sought not the dawning of Thy Being, nor do I seek it; and had I known the proof, I would have been the first to hasten unto Thee, to gaze upon Thee, to find repose with Thee, and to delight in Thy companionship. But now—how can I attain thereto, when the heights of denial are barred from every quarter, and the utmost summit of exaltation is veiled from every gaze?

Glorified be God, thy Lord! The very grandeur hath bowed before the majesty of the sovereignty of Thy might, and assuredly it faileth to discharge Thy due. Sanctified are all manifestations, in the secrets of their hearts, through turning unto Thy Countenance; yet, of a certainty, they tremble and are afraid before the sovereignty of Thy justice and the evidences of Thy dominion.

Glorified be God, and praise be unto Him, for He hath numbered me among those who grasp the cord of His guardianship, and among the assured in what God hath decreed for Thee of His mighty decree and His bounteous gifts. By Thy glory and Thy majesty! Were it not that Thou hast forbidden Thy lovers to despair of Thy mercy and to lose hope in the portals of Thy loving-care, then, in view of the limits of my soul and the faults of my being, I would have been the first of the despairing and the last of the despondent. But since, through Thy grace, Thou hast made that attribute unlawful to the people of Thy love, and hast forbidden it to the people of Thy allegiance, I have burned in the fire of remembering myself, yet remained hopeful of Thy favor and Thy mention. I have marked the sighs of my soul whenever it is conjoined with aught save the effulgence of Thy might; yet I have not despaired of the path of Thy care, nor of the springs of Thy mercy.

By Thy might! My rebellion is not like the rebellion of Thy servants; for I knew the Lord of the servants, then set myself against Him by the rising of opposites and rivals. What sin, then, is greater than that I should remember myself before Thee? What fault more grievous than that my existence should subsist in Thy presence? Nay, by Thy glory! The servant’s mention of his Lord is a sin not matched by all sins; a blemish not equaled by all blemishes; a grief not balanced by all griefs. I call God to witness—He is the Truth, the Knower of things unseen.

Had my disobedience been like that of the people of splendors, my occupation that of the folk of allusions, my deeds those performed by souls immersed in the billows of limitations—then had I been free and at rest over against the City of Thy might, for such things are as nothing that Thou shouldst question me thereon or take me to task for them; and they are forgiven their people when they turn unto Thee and repent thereof. But how shall I fare, when every time I ascend, seeking to unify God by His own remembrance, I behold my soul and its remembrance? Each time I would be lifted up to drink from the cup of God’s love, I perceive the love of myself for itself.

Unto Thee, then, is the flight, O King, O All-Subduing! Unto Thee is the refuge, O Sovereign, O All-Bestowing! I flee unto Thee with my whole being, my oneness, and the quintessence of my praise. Had not the knowledge of Thy Lord encompassed my confession of His oneness, it had been better for me; for before I affirmed His unity I bore but a single fault, whereas after my confession it is as though I bore every fault and acquired every sin: my mention of His mention is a sin; my mention of myself is a sin; the coupling of the two is a sin; their separation a sin; their union a sin; the gaze at this a sin, and the gaze at that a sin. These are seven gates whose fires are kindled on every side, whose columns are filled with sighs from every corner.

There is no escape save that I alight in Thy court; no refuge save that I cling to Thy threshold. For with Thee there is no mention save His mention, no splendor save His splendor, no praise save His praise, no exaltation save His exaltation, no nearness save His nearness, no manifestation save His manifestation, no concealment save His concealment. Therefore hath God commanded all to return unto Him, to repair unto Thee, to acknowledge Thy guardianship, to arise in obedience unto Thee, to hold fast to the cord of Thy protection, and to behold the lights of the effulgence of Thy Countenance.

Here am I, casting before Thee the very being of my identity and its essence. Do with it what beseemeth the sovereignty of Thy mercy and accordeth with the majesty and beauty of the King of Thy tenderness, Thy kindness, Thy loving care, Thy generosity, Thy favor, and Thy bounties. For whatever I mention is a sin after a sin; whenever I seek forgiveness, it is a fault after a fault; whenever I repent unto God, it is disobedience upon disobedience—such is all that proceedeth from the servant.

Deal, then, with me—and with whomsoever hath turned unto me—even as God hath dealt with Thee; He made Thee the guardian of His own Self in the kingdom of His Command and His creation; He entrusted to Thee the affairs of His dominion; He vouchsafed Thee what describers cannot describe, what the severed cannot attain, what the counters cannot reckon, what the knowers cannot know.

Verily, we are God’s, and unto Him shall we return. In Thee have I put my trust; unto our Lord do we turn in longing. He sufficeth us—there is no God but He. Unto Him do we commit our affairs, and upon Him do we rely in all that He hath decreed for us. And upon God, then, let the believers rely. Glorified be God, the Lord of the heavens, the Lord of all the worlds.