Tablet of visitation for the first to arrive and the last to attain,1 may the souls of all on earth be offered up for them both.
In the name of Him Who is the Compassionate, the All-Bountiful!
The peace that hath shone forth from the Dayspring of the Will of God, the Lord of all being, and the light that hath dawned above the horizon of His supreme mercy and His resplendent signs rest upon you, O ye who are the hands of His power in the kingdom of creation and the manifestations of His grandeur between earth and heaven!
Ye are they who were awakened by the gentle winds of the dawn of Revelation and were enraptured by the voice of Him Who spoke on Sinai. Ye are they who inhaled the fragrance of the All-Merciful when it wafted from the realm of divine knowledge. By your guidance the thirsty hastened to the onrushing waters of everlasting life and the sinner to the vivifying river of forgiveness and mercy. Ye are the signs of God and His straight Path amongst His creation. Through you all faces turned to the Most Exalted Horizon and every poor one sought the Wellspring of wealth.
At your suffering all things lamented, and every atom cried out between earth and heaven, and Adam forsook the Most Exalted Paradise and chose for Himself a place upon the dust. Ye are the dawning-places of power amidst the people and the daysprings of might amongst the righteous. Through you the springtime of inner meaning appeared in the world of utterance and the All-Merciful shed His effulgent splendour upon all created things.
Ye are the hands of His Cause in His lands, and the stars of His bountiful care amidst His servants. Through you the daystars of knowledge dawned forth, the heavens of all religions were illumined, the lights of the sciences shone brightly amongst the nations, and the sphere of the arts was expanded throughout the world. Ye are the dawning-places of God’s Revelation upon the earth and the daysprings of His signs in the world of creation. By your arising did the people arise to serve the Cause and the river of mercy flow out amidst humankind.
Ye are the pearls of the Hidden Sea and the letters of the Treasured Book. Through your sublime word the Book of Names was expounded and the portals of blessings were opened wide before the inhabitants of earth and heaven. Through you the injunction “Be thou” was enforced, the Hidden Secret was divulged, and the choice Wine was unsealed.
Alas, alas! By reason of your sorrow, the inmates of the all-highest Paradise were overcome with grief and the denizens of the kingdom of names were moved to lament. At your suffering, trembling seized the inhabitants of the Verdant Isle on the shore of the Sea of Grandeur, causing the sighs of such as are wholly devoted to God to ascend and the tears of them that are nigh unto Him to rain down. Ye are the books of God and His scriptures, the epistles of God and His tablets. By virtue of your gladness the faces of all beings were wreathed in smiles, and by reason of your sorrow all things visible and invisible did wail aloud.
Ye are the arks of God sailing upon the ocean of His Will, and the people of God who have arisen to champion His Cause. Through you the Most Great Announcement was proclaimed and the limbs of all men were made to tremble. Through your call every sleeping one was awakened, every seated one rose up, and every reclining one rushed forth. Through that call the negligent were raised from slumber, the ignorant were enlightened, the agitated were assured, and the tongue of every stammerer was unloosed. Through your sweet remembrance all people hastened to the Most Exalted Horizon and the Crimson Ark sailed upon the sea of names.
Ye are the dawning-places of the Will of God and the daysprings of His Cause, the embodiments of His command and the sources of His might. Ye are the storehouses of His knowledge and the treasuries of His secrets, the repositories of His decree and the exponents of His behest. Ye are the pearls of the ocean of His generosity and the gems of the mines of His munificence, the suns of the firmament of His grace and the moons of the heaven of His bounty. Through you the banner “He, verily, is God” was hoisted upon the earth and every stranger came to recognize his ultimate goal and his true abode.
Through your allegiance did the pure in heart rush to the field of martyrdom and offer up that which they possessed in the path of God, the Lord of all names. Through you did they who enjoy near access to God attain unto the living waters of immortality, and the true believers unto that which hath flowed forth from the Luminous Spot in the All-Highest Paradise before the Divine Lote-Tree.
I testify that through you the breeze of the All-Merciful passed over all created things and the sweet savour of the All-Glorious wafted over all regions. Through you the Throne was established upon the land of Za‘farán2 and the God of Mercy seated Himself thereupon. Through you the heaven of certitude shone resplendent and all things were moved to proclaim, “The Kingdom is God’s, the Almighty, the Beneficent!” Through your names the suns of inner meaning dawned above the horizons of utterance, and the streams of divine wisdom flowed in the gardens of true understanding. Ye are those inner meanings that can neither be apprehended through words nor expressed through speech.
Blessed is the poor one who hath set out towards the orient of your wealth, the thirsty one who hath hastened to the shores of the ocean of your favours, the lowly one who hath sought the court of your glory, the ignorant one who hath looked to the dawning-place of your knowledge, the distressed one who hath drawn nigh unto the tabernacle of your majesty and the pavilion of your grace, the ailing one who hath longed for the heavenly river of your healing, the weak one who hath turned to the kingdom of your might, and the friend who hath reached the soft-flowing stream of reunion with you and been honoured with your presence, which excelleth all that hath been fashioned in the universe or appeared in the realm of creation.
Great indeed is the blessedness of the wayward one who hath rushed to the dayspring of your guidance, the slumbering one who hath been awakened through your remembrance, the dead one who hath been stirred by the breezes of your utterance and adorned with the ornament of life beneath your shadow, the seated one who hath arisen in your service, the eloquent one who hath celebrated your praise and turned to the fountain of your generosity, and the rebellious one who through your intercession hath reached the ocean of forgiveness.
Through the sweet call you raised did all things draw nigh unto God, the Possessor of all names, and by your turning to the Most Exalted Horizon did all faces turn towards the dawning-place of the bounty of your Lord, the All-Glorious. Through you the treasures of all names were brought forth amongst the people. Through you the hearts of His ardent lovers were set ablaze in the world of creation.
The glory that hath dawned from the horizon of Mine utterance rest upon you and upon whomsoever hath turned towards you and fixed his gaze on the court of your glory. Through you the Dove of Eternity chanted and the birds of the Throne of glory warbled amongst the peoples, the seas surged and the winds blew, the lights were shed abroad and the skies were illumined. Through you the celestial Bird sounded its call, that which had been hidden was disclosed, the irrevocable decree was fulfilled, and the Hand of Mercy passed round the sealed wine. Through you the morn of certitude dawned forth, the lamp of vain imaginings was extinguished, and the gates of inspiration were flung open. Through you the secrets of the Book were divulged and the veils were rent asunder. Through you the emerald-green Nightingale warbled upon the Crimson Tree, testifying to that whereunto God Himself did testify ere the creation of earth and heaven.
Ye are the waves of this Sea through which every other sea hath surged and the mercy of God hath appeared in every land. I bear witness that ye are rivers branching out from the Most Great Ocean, luminous moons rising above the horizon of the world, and radiant lights shining upon its peoples. God hath made each of you a bough of this Ancient Root; an exponent of this glorious, this veiled and weighty Secret; a manifestation of His most noble Name; and a sign of His all-embracing grace. Well is it with him that hath been blessed by your breath during your lives and guided by your example after your deaths. Through you God’s bounty was fulfilled, His mercy encompassed all things, His testimony was established, His heavenly sustenance was sent down, His Word was perfected, His breeze was wafted, and His proofs shone resplendent amidst all creation.
By your suffering, the kindreds of the cities of names were seized with agitation, the Pen of the Most High wailed aloud, the inmates of the loftiest Paradise were sorely vexed, the leaves of the Divine Lote-Tree withered, the Maids of heaven swooned away in their crimson chambers, the atoms of the universe cried out between earth and heaven, and the movement of the Pen of the Most Great Name was stilled in the realms of remembrance and praise.
Blessed is the one who hath been illumined with the light of your faces, hath drawn nigh unto the precincts of your court and circled round you, hath visited your resting-places and taken refuge with you, hath cleaved to the cord of your grace and held fast to the hem of your bounty, hath striven to the utmost in your path and suffered martyrdom for the sake of your love.
Through you the Supreme Horizon was illumined and all faces turned to God, the Lord of all Names. Through you were manifested His sovereignty and His might, His majesty and His grandeur. Ye are the lights of the Kingdom, the secrets of the Celestial Dominion, and the daysprings of the Cause of God in this nether world. Through you the sun of utterance shone forth, the ocean of understanding appeared, the heaven of certitude was upraised, and the throne of the All-Merciful was established in the realm of being.
Blessed are ye—the origin of your beings and their end, your outer temples and inner selves—and blessed is whosoever hath drawn nigh unto you and visited your graves, held fast to the cord of your favours, and clung firmly to the hem of the robe of your bestowals.
Lauded be Thy name, O Lord of Being and Possessor of all things visible and invisible! I beseech Thee by the showers of Thy mercy, through which Thy bounties and favours were manifested unto Thy servants, and by the mysteries of Thy knowledge and the pearls of the ocean of Thy wisdom, to forgive me, and my parents, and every servant who hath clung firmly to this exalted station and hastened to this sublime habitation.
I entreat Thee, O my Lord, by that Word wherewith Thou hast subdued the hearts of Thy chosen ones, to satisfy my needs and make me steadfast in Thy Cause, with my eyes fixed upon Thy horizon, wholly rid of all attachment to such as have disbelieved in Thee and in Thy signs.
O Lord! Thou seest Thy servant hastening to the ocean of Thy forgiveness, desiring only that which Thou hast ordained for them that love Thee. Thou art, in truth, that All-Powerful One Whom the pursuits of Thy servants can never frustrate nor the clamour of the people deter from Thy purpose. Thou doest, through the power of Thy might, what Thou willest, and ordainest as Thou pleasest. Thou, verily, art the All-Powerful, the All-Subduing, the Almighty.